Hidden Past
by theinspired
Summary: A year after proclaiming that he is Iron Man, Tony Stark rescues a teenage girl from a testing facility. Pepper avoids her at all cost. She seems to be hiding something. First in a series. Movieverse.
1. Chapter 1

_I love Iron Man. This story is based of the movie. It's switches around a lot in the beginning so hang on. I don't own anything. ENJOY!_

**Chapter 1**

"Sir, I advise you to stay within the height limit." Jarvis warned.

"I want to test this, Jarvis." Tony Stark replied. He had been perfecting his suit so that it could attain higher altitudes and, eventually, space. Now, he was testing his latest improvement.

"May I ask you to recall your last incident?"

He laughed. "Don't worry. I'm prepared."

"I don't think you are aware of how far you will fall if you fail to defrost."

Tony glanced down toward the ground. It looked like a road map now. "I think I _am _aware, Jarvis." his gaze returned to the sky above him. There was a jet plane blocking his path. He swerved around it just in time.

"You must be more cautious of your surroundings, Sir."

He rolled his eyes. "I know, I know."

"You've just exceeded your estimated safety range. I advise you drop your altitude."

"C'mon, Jarvis, what's the point of being a superhero if you can't push the envelope every once in a while?"

"The point is saving lives and I don't think you'll be able to do that if you keep this up."

"Relax. I'll be fine."

"That's what you said last time and you ended up with two broken ribs and a fractured arm."

"So...I messed up a little but it's not going to happen this time. Trust me." His phone went off. "Who is it?"

"It's Miss Potts."

Tony answered. "Hello?"

"Thank God." Pepper replied. "Where _are _you? You missed your meeting _and _a press conference."

"Chill, Pepper. I'm out."

"Out where?" she seemed suspicious.

"Flying."

"No. You're not. Do you remember what happened last time?"

"No. It's all a blur. Maybe the pain caused it."

"Ha. Ha. Very funny, Mr. Stark. I don't want you to get hurt again."

"I won't."

"You sure?"

"One hundred percent."

"Okay." she sighed. "Goodbye, Tony." she hung up.

"She seems worried about you." Jarvis commented.

"Yeah, well, everybody's worried about me." he hovered in midair. "I think it's time we went back to the workshop."

"I agree. Some of the joints are starting to freeze up."

He turned around and headed home.

* * *

"I can't believe you, Sarah. This is the third home you been kicked out of this week." Mrs. Spilter glared at her. The giant mole on her right cheek bouncing. She smoothed back her white hair. She looked like a witch that stepped out of a fairy tale.

"I'm sorry," Sarah said. "I just...I don't fit in with anyone." her blue eyes studied her hands. Her dark hair caught the sunlight and shimmered in response.

They were sitting in the counselor's office, which was Mrs. Spilter's, at San Hill Orphanage. The orphanage that Sarah Paton had spent most of her life. She didn't remember her parents like some of the other kids did. She didn't even know who they were. The orphanage had told her that her mother had died in childbirth and her father was unknown. That was all she had to go by. No pictures. No memories. Nothing. Just some story that could have easily been a lie.

And in the midst of that depressing life something was happening to her.

It all started when she had disappeared a few months ago. No one was able to find her. It was like she had melted into thin air. After two weeks, they found her unconscious in a park across town.

She seemed to have changed. Her usual flamboyant self had disappeared, replaced by timid and shyness. Mrs. Spilter wasn't the only one to notice that she got into trouble less often and wasn't up to playing pranks anymore. She seemed to have matured dramatically over those two weeks.

She didn't like to talk about her brief disappearance. Whenever someone would ask about it, she would kindly ignore them until they dropped the subject. Most thought that it was because she had been kidnapped and forced to work those two weeks or was tortured, something along those lines.

But that was a long shot from the real reason and Sarah didn't even know what that was. When she recalled those two weeks, a great pain shot through her and she found only blackness. Something was blocking her from reaching her own memories and she blamed who placed it there for all the explosions.

After she had recovered enough, by Mrs. Spilter's standards, Sarah was sent of to live with the Wilksons. She liked her new foster parents, especially her foster mother, Nancy, she made the best chocolate chip cookies in the world, but after Sarah had, supposedly, set the house on fire, they sent her back.

Similar things had happened with the other two foster homes, she had sprouted wings, which was hard to believe coming from a drunk, or turned into a bear and destroyed the living room. No one believed anything her former foster parents had said. Everyone thought that they were crazy so, for Sarah's protection, she was sent back to San Hill.

Sarah knew what they had said was true. She had the memories to prove it. They were all a result from whoever--whatever had taken her and she knew it. She wanted to know so badly who had done this to her and why. The answers where lying right outside the door...but nobody would let her go, not until she was eighteen. That was at least four years away.

Mrs. Spilter sighed and shook her head. "I bet there's a family out there for you. We'll find them."

"I hope." Sarah whispered.

"You may go now."

Sarah rose silently and walked toward the door. She turned the knob and swung it open slowly, listening to the creaks as if they were saying something.

Mrs. Spilter didn't stop her. She had been around children long enough to know that Sarah was suffering.

When the door was open, Sarah walked through the door frame and carefully shut it behind her.

* * *

Tony heard angry footsteps coming down the stairs. He knew those footsteps.

He had just returned from his test. The machines were still taking off the suit. "I thought I fixed this problem." he muttered to him self.

"You did, Sir." Jarvis smartly replied. "But it seems to have come back again."

"Yeah, it seems."

Pepper strode in. Her face showed how she felt: angry. "Mr. Stark, do you know how many--" she stopped when she saw him struggling with the machines. "Are there bullet holes this time?"

Tony grinned, remembering his first long distance flight. "None, I promise."

Pepper sighed in frustration. "Fine. When you're done here, I'd like to have a word with you."

"Of course."

She turned on her heel and left.

--

"He's coming up, Miss Potts"

"Thank you, Jarvis." she replied. She was sitting on the couch in the main room watching the news. When she heard Tony's footsteps, she grabbed the remote and turned off the television.

He was surprised to see her just sitting there waiting for him. "Did you sit here the whole time?" he approached the back of the couch.

Pepper turned to face him. "Yes, but I was occupied."

He glanced down to the remote in her hand. "I see."

Following his eyes, she hastily dropped the remote on the couch. "Sit down, Mr. Stark." she let her anger seep into her words.

He got the point and sat down next to her. She wasn't expecting him to sit so close but continued anyway.

"Do you know how many times I had say 'I'm sorry, Mr. Stark is out on an errand'? And not to mention how many reporters attacked me with their questions?" she raised her eyebrows.

"No, I don't know, Miss Potts, and I'm ashamed of my behavior." Tony replied. He knew that this was one of those lectures that always ended with her forcing that sentence out of him, so he decided to skip the lecture part. He wanted to occupy his time with something else.

Pepper was speechless. "What did you say?" she whispered.

He smiled at her sudden lack of words. "I think you heard me correctly, Pepper." he leaned in closer. His face was centimeters away from hers.

"I--" she was cut off by the kiss. She fought it at first, then she gave in. She knew that somewhere deep down, she wanted him and she wasn't about to give this chance up.

Tony pulled away. "I expected you to fight more. I'm surprised."

"Me too." she whispered and pulled him back into the kiss. Pepper wanted it to go on forever but air was a necessity.

They pulled away from each other, gasping for air. "I love you." she whispered.

He wasn't surprised, as she'd thought he would be, he was in love. "I love you, too." he whispered back and kissed her passionately. She didn't hesitate to reply.

**Hey, sorry. It gets better. I'll post the next chapter sometime today or tomorrow. Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

_hey, I need reviews. I want to know if you like it. I don't own anything._

**Chapter 2**

"How did it go, Sarah?" a boy at the table asked.

She looked up from her food. "How did what go, Jay?"

"Hello. You got sent to Mrs. Filter's office. That's not really hard to forget." All the kids at the orphanage call Mrs. Spilter "Mrs. Filter".

"Oh." she pushed her broccoli around her plate with her fork. "Nothing happened really. I just got lectured."

"That's it? No torture? Nothing?" a girl said, her voice echoed through the grand hall.

"No, nothing like that, Avery. She just told me that I should be more careful." Sarah shrugged. "That's all."

"Seriously?" Jay said. "I heard that she ties kids up on the ceiling of her office and they're never to be seen again." he was always a drama king. Not like his sister, Avery, who's always quiet and polite.

Jay and Avery were identical twins. A rare boy, girl pair. They had the same honey brown hair and blue eyes. But after that they were complete opposites. Jay was more of a trouble maker where as Avery was a stickler for the rules. Their parents had died in a car crash when they were nine. They came to San Hill and Sarah had befriended them.

"That's where we thought you went you disappeared." Jay continued.

Avery hit him on the shoulder. "I didn't."

"Okay." he held his hands up. "I did but I bet there was other people who thought the same thing."

Sarah smiled at Jay. He always like to make up the craziest stories. "Trust me, guys. I went into her office. No one was tied to the ceiling."

Jay looked hurt. "Just because your older than us by..."

"Two years."

"Yeah, what you said, just because your older than us, doesn't mean that you can push us around."

Her grin widened. "I'm not pushing you around, Jay. I'm just saying that your little story isn't true."

"Hey," Avery butted in. "you're smiling! I haven't seen you smile since..."

"I know." Sarah said. "I know.

* * *

"No, Tony." Pepper pushed him away. "You're going too far."

"But-" he started.

"No. If you want to kiss me, then kiss me. But I will _not_ turn into one of your groupies!"

He sighed. "Your impossible."

She smiled. "I know." she leaned in closer. "I think that's why you like me so much." she stood up and straightened her clothes.

"You can't do that to me." he complained.

"Why not?"

"Because..." he drifted off.

"Uh Huh. That's what I thought." she walked away, no doubt toward her office.

"Tough break, Tony. Try not to push too quickly." it was Rhodey.

His face flushed. "How much did you see?"

"Not much. Just from when she stood up."

He sighed in relief and got up from the couch. "Why does she do that?"

"I don't know, Tony. Maybe it has something to do with the last time."

"The last time what?" Rhodey raised his eyebrows. "Oh. The last time I tried that...but that was years ago!"

"You know. Everyone is not like you. They don't do something then forget the next day. Some people actually hold grudges."

"You think she's holding a grudge against me, Rhodey?"

"I didn't say that. I'm just saying that people remember. That's all."

"You confuse me sometimes." his hand went up to the arc reactor, tapping in thought. "Why are you here?"

"I'm supposed to deliver a message to Iron Man but you don't seem up to it right now." he turned to leave.

"Rhodey, you know as well as I do that I'm ready for any mission they might spring upon me."

"Okay, but you've got to promise not to tell Pepper. She wouldn't approve."

Tony glanced in the direction she left. "I'm liking it already."

* * *

Sarah sat on the swing and stared at the sky. The children where allowed a little free time before their afternoon chores and most of them came here, to the small playground.

Sarah was the oldest child at San Hill. So, naturally, she kept to herself most of the time. She only talked to Jay and Avery at meal times and just before bed. The rest of her day was either filled with work or her thoughts.

Whenever she had a spare second she'd be out on the playground sitting in her swing staring at the sky. When it was raining or too cold to go outside, she would read books like Peter Pan or Thumbelina. Stories about action, adventure, and escape from something bad.

These stories made her feel better about her life. They made her think more positively. Maybe she will find a family, and live happily ever after. Maybe she won't be stuck here until she was eighteen. Maybe she'll have a happy life and find a way to help the planet. Like Iron Man.

She shook her head. Ever since she'd seen him streak by the orphanage on his way to help save the world, she would resort to that last little hope. But she knew that Iron Man was too busy to care about one little girl stuck in a stupid orphanage. There was nothing he could do for her anyway, unless he can make the perfect family appear out of thin air. She knew that was impossible.

She sighed and walked over to the wire fence that surrounded the playground. It was the only thing stopping her from leaving this hopeless place. The only thing stopping her from finding her father. The only thing stopping her from finding out who had captured her. The only thing stopping her from freedom. Freedom to do what she wanted, when she wanted, with no questions asked. Freedom to roam as she pleased. No one cared about her, she was an insignificant little speck in the world's population.

She shook the fence in frustration. She knew that her freedom was right on the other side. She wanted to taste it so badly, more than she had ever wanted before. More than even she knew.

The whistle chirped loudly in her ear, signaling the end of free time. She knew that this was her only chance, now or never.

She started scaling the fence. Before she knew it she was at the top. No one had noticed her, yet. She swung her right leg over the fence, followed by her left. Her heart was pounding in her chest so loudly she thought for sure everyone could hear it.

When she began to climb down the other side, the children started pointing. But it was already too late, she could feel herself beginning to change. Wings were sprouting out of her back, her bones becoming lighter.

She dropped down from the fence and crouched, ready to take off at a moments notice. The guards ran toward the fence shouting commands in hoarse voices. She wondered if Mrs. Spilter knew what was going on.

Her wings extended to their full length, reflecting the fading sunlight off of their white feathers until it hurt to look at. She took off and made one last circle around the playground. "I'll come back and take you with me! I promise! You'll all find a place to live, a happy, normal life!" she saluted to the children and they saluted back, grins plastered on their faces.

Sarah Paton flew off and away from San Hill Orphanage, to her freedom.

**I hope you liked it. Please, please, please, please review! I won't update until I get at least one review! Hurry!**


	3. Chapter 3

_hey, i love this story. So here's the next chapter. I don't own anything. thanks, __IrishHatdance13, __SpottedHeart2646, and__ tamasit1 for the reviews! I know the info is all little too much but I'd rather do that than have her actually go through everything. It speeds up soon I promise.  
_

**Chapter 3**

"So, what's the big deal?" Tony asked. "It looks like a normal warehouse to me."

"That's what your supposed to think." James answered through the telephone.

Tony had just arrived at the place he was supposed to crash into and destroy files. He was flying in circles around the facility, trying to find a good place to enter.

"Yeah, I think it's working."

"Very funny, Tony. You might want to do it soon. They could spot you." Rhodey was surprised no one had noticed that Iron Man was above them...yet.

"Chill, I'm too high and no one looks up these days."

"If you say so."

"Why wouldn't Pepper approve of this?"

"You've already disappeared once today, she might not want that to happen again. And you're putting yourself in danger."

"I see. Can you use some technical do-hickie to see what their defenses are like?"

"Yes and it's called infrared." he said it slowly. "Infrared."

"Rhodey, stop trying to be funny. You really aren't. Just upload the image onto Jarvis's server. I can access it from there."

"Okay, Iron Man." Tony heard the clicking of buttons. "It should be there now. Do you need me anymore?"

"Probably not."

"Bye, Tony." he hung up.

"Sir," Jarvis said. "would you like me to upload the infrared?"

"Yes." Tony said.

There was a pause as Jarvis did his work. "The infrared will overlay with your vision. Would you like me to proceed?"

"Yes." his vision changed. It was filled with reds, oranges, purples, and yellows all signifying different heat temperatures.

"Be careful. I suggest you wait to go into combat until you've gotten used to the infrared, Sir."

"Can't you switch it off?"

"Yes. Would you like me to do so now?"

"No. Just wait until I say so."

"Yes, Sir."

Tony focused on the activity inside the building. Some were studying test tubes in labs, others were poking and prying at animals, and still others were drinking coffee and reading newspapers. There was nothing sitting or standing in such a way that it might be guarding the complex. So, he searched for where ever they keep their data.

He found a room that looked promising until he noticed a car pulling up close to the facility.

* * *

Sarah flew until she became so hungry that she left like her stomach was going to eat the rest of her body. She decided that she needed food and she needed it now.

She landed in a small patch of trees close to a park. She felt her wings disappear and her bones grow heavy. She sighed sadly. _I'll never get used to weighing a million pounds after flying,_ she thought sourly. She leaned against a tree, trying to get used to her added bones mass.

She heard a rustling in the trees off to her right. Her head snapped in that direction. She felt her heart beat twice as fast in her rib cage. Her hunger forgotten, she called out. "Who's there?"

She heard the rustling get louder followed by footsteps. A man emerged from the trees. He was dressed completely in black. His features matched his clothing except for his skin. The paleness of it stood out against his black attire.

"Who are you?" Sarah asked.

The man smiled. "Don't worry about me. You should be worried about yourself."

Horrible recognition crossed her features. She knew this man but couldn't quite place a finger on it. "Y-you." she stuttered.

"Yes, Sarah, it's me. Welcome back." he came toward her, his hands were behind his back the whole time. "I can't believe it worked! You're a break through in modern science."

"What? What are you talking about?" She was equally surprised by both of the things he just said.

He smiled. It was sinister. "All your questions will be answered soon enough." He brought his hands out in front of him. They were holding a black cloth.

Sarah willed herself to turn into a bear or burst into flames. Something, anything to get away from this creep but, no matter how hard she tried, nothing happened. She just stood there, leaning against a tree, shock plastered to her face, unable to move.

He brought his hands up and placed the cloth on her head in one swift motion. Sarah was completely blind. She struggled as he tried to bind her hands. She felt a blow to the side of her head and began to feel dizzy.

"Relax." the harsh voice said in her ear. "It'll be over soon." Sarah relaxed, holding on to her last little hope, and fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

_Why is that here?,_ Tony wondered. He studied the black SUV with curiosity. He could see that there were three figures inside, using the infrared.

One was colder than the others, decorated in blues and purples. The other two were covered in reds and oranges. He had a very strong feeling that the colder one was a hostage. He decided to wait a little longer on attacking, just to see what they were going to do.

He stopped circling and hovered in place. The driver got out of the SUV and went around to the back. The trunk was opened and he grabbed the hostage. The other form got out as well. He shut the trunk and went up to, what Tony could guess was, the front door. The driver followed him, the hostage slung over his back.

They entered the strange complex and walked through a maze of hallways. He could barely keep track of them.

Finally, they entered a room and strapped the hostage's hands and feet to the wall. One of them removed something from the hostage's head and long hair was revealed, leaving Iron Man to conclude that the hostage was female.

He repositioned himself so he was directly above the room and lowered himself, gently, onto the roof. Nothing happened. No sirens.

He watched the scene but still couldn't hear what they were saying. Another figure walked into the room. Something was clung to its neck a flung out behind him when he walked: a cape.

* * *

Sarah opened her eyes slowly. Her left arm ached. She noticed that she was strapped to the wall by her wrists and ankles. A band was placed around her middle to prevent her from hanging off the wall. The room and everything in it was white.

She looked at her arm. There was something like an IV stuck in it. "What?" she said.

"No need to speak." a familiar, yet unrecognizable voice said. "I'll do all the talking for now."

She looked for the source of the voice and found it standing right in front of her. His skin was dark. He wore a purple cape and an eye patch. Again, she had this strange feeling that she knew him but couldn't quite remember.

Seeing the confusion on her face, he smiled. "It's nice to see you again, Sarah. I see that the memory block has worked. Good." he motioned to the same man that had captured her. "Alex, would you mind taking that off for us?"

"That depends..." Alex started.

The man in the cape sighed. "You know what I mean."

"Yes, Sir." he walked over to Sarah. "This might hurt." he picked up a needle from the table and carefully inserted it in her neck. She winced. He pushed down on it, realizing the fluid into her bloodstream. She whimpered. It felt like a knife was sticking into her neck. He removed the needle and set it back on the table. "It'll take a few minutes for it to kick in but she'll have full access to her memories after that."

"Good."

Alex walked away from her back to his original spot. Sarah closed her eyes when she felt a burst of pain. It faded quickly. She tried to remember something about these people but it was all a blur. Another wave of pain hit her. When it faded, she tried again. It was a little clearer but not clear enough. She yelped when the pain struck her again, more intense than the last. The pain seemed to be occurring in time with her pulse and each time her memories became a little clearer.

The fourth time was the last and she remembered perfectly.

**I hope you liked it. Please review! I need a little feed back! Once again, I will wait for one review until I update.**


	4. Chapter 4

_hey, people! This is an amazing story! I think you'd agree. Oh, I don't own anything. ENJOY!_

**Chapter 4**

"Alex," Sarah said. "come here." She remembered everything over those two weeks. The capture, the tests, the pain...the betrayal. When she had first arrived here, Alex had befriended her. He was, what they would call, a breakthrough in modern science, like Sarah. He had been at the complex for almost a year. He was an orphan. His life was pretty much the same as hers except he knew who his parents were. He even had a picture of them. She always envied him for that.

His was able to control his age. He can make himself look way older or younger than he actually was. In reality, his age was very close to Sarah's. She wanted to see that to prove something.

Alex stood in front of her. She looked at him with sympathy. "Act your age." her words contradicted her face. They were coated in layers of anger and hate. He immediately started transforming from a twenty year old man to a fourteen year old boy. "I knew it!" she jerked her right arm forward, wanting to point at him. She was stopped by the restraints. "I knew you had joined those freaks!"

There was one catch to getting all these special abilities. You can't control them with your free will until you work for the doctors that made you the way you are.

As far as she knew, there were no other living breakthroughs, just Sarah and Alex. But she was pretty sure that there had been some before them.

They had both been exposed to gamma radiation. The rays had affected their chemical make-up, making it possible for them to control how they looked. Alex can control the age of his cells while Sarah can control the structure of her cells. Sarah's body started changing just out of one day of radiation but it had taken Alex longer to develop his power. That was why he had been there way longer than she had.

On the last day Sarah was there, the doctors gave them both the same offer: control for service. She had flat out refused but she knew that Alex was having second thoughts.

A few hours after she had made her decision, she was injected with so many chemicals she thought she wasn't going to survive. This was the memory block. She passed out toward the end of the procedure and they brought her to the park. She was left there and was discovered a little later.

Sarah glared at Alex. Her eyes burned with hate. "How? How could you?"

Alex shrugged. "I don't regret what I did. I wanted control. I was tried of sudden out bursts. Tried of the poking and prying. So, I agreed to work for him." he waved his hand at the man in the cape.

She studied the other person in the room. She knew who this was. It was Nick Fury.

* * *

Tony was getting tired of watching the scene without knowing what was going on. He wanted to just burst in there. He needed to destroy the files but he couldn't just leave the hostage.

_I was going to blow the place anyway,_ he thought. He took off and hovered just a few feet above the roof. "Jarvis, disable the infrared."

"Yes, Sir." Jarvis said.

His vision snapped back to normal. "Thanks. Time to crash this party." he blew the roof to pieces. He dropped into the room and looked around. All the fire was contained on the roof, none had leaked into the room, yet. He saw the hostage and started toward her.

"Iron Man has come to save the day." he turned at the voice.

"Nick Fury, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm minding my own business, unlike you."

Sarah was frozen in place. Her mouth wide and shock clearly shown on her face. It couldn't be. Her last hope had finally came. It was strange. She'd played out in her head different scenarios but this wasn't one of them. She had no ides what to expect.

Alex crawled under the table, shaking with fear.

"Well, I didn't know you were going to be here." Tony proceeded to unstrap Sarah.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Why not?" he didn't stop.

"See that needle in her arm?"

He paused for a brief second. "Yeah."

"That chemical in her bloodstream is stopping her from...destroying this building."

"I don't believe it." he had completely unstrapped her.

She was standing next to Tony trying to get the needle out of her arm.

"You'll believe it soon enough."

Finally, the needle came loose. Her arm was sore but she felt so much better. She didn't realize that she was tired and weak until both sensations left her. She also felt in control.

Experimentally, she held her hand out. It changed from flesh and bone to fire and back again in ten seconds. No one had noticed. _Finally,_ she thought, _I have control!_

She raised her eyes to Nick, a smirk crossing her face. "I have control. You can't stop me from leaving no matter how much force you use."

"I wouldn't help her escape. She's dangerous." he pleaded.

"We'll see about that." Tony slammed the fire alarm. A loud buzzing noise replied. "Call 911. That might work better." he turned to Sarah. "Hold on tight. It might be a little rough."

She nodded, forgetting that she could fly on her own, and clung to his metal covered arm. "So long, suckers!" she yelled as he took off into the sky.

Iron Man landed on a rooftop close by. She let go. "What are you doing?"

"Giving them a little parting gift." he replied.

She could see the complex. The fire was slowly eating its way down the building. A small missile-like object flew through an open window. An explosion occurred a few seconds later and part of the building was left in pieces.

"That takes care of the files. You ready?" he turned to her.

"Yeah." she said, hesitantly.

* * *

"So...you built it?" Sarah asked.

"Yes." Tony answered.

They had just made it to the house. She had watched in awe as he took off the suit. The machines didn't have any problems this time. He had showed her the workshop, briefly, and now they were sitting in the main room, just talking.

"How long did it take?"

"A while. I didn't really keep track." she started to speak but he stopped her. "What's your name? You never did tell me."

"It's Sarah."

"Sarah..." he trailed off, implying her to give a last name.

"Paton. Sarah Paton."

"Do you have..." he didn't want to offend her.

"Parents? No. I mean, I have a father...somewhere. My mother died in childbirth."

His face softened. "I didn't mean-"

"It's okay. I get that a lot. I don't know who my parents are." she shrugged. "Just a fact of life."

"Do you live in an orphanage or...something like that?"

"Yes." she looked down at her lap. She didn't want to go back. She hated San Hill but she knew that Tony Stark would make her go. He was a superhero. Superheroes follow the law.

"You don't want to go back, do you?" it was like he had read her mind.

"No." she looked up at him. "How did you-"

"I could tell. Your voice, the way you looked down. I won't send you back, if you don't want to. It'll be like...a foster home."

"Seriously?" she couldn't believe her ears. Not only had he saved her but now he was letting her to stay in his mansion sized home. It was too good to be true.

"Yes."

Sarah couldn't hold it in anymore. She ran over to him and hugged him with all her might.

"Careful." he breathed. "I'm only strong in my suit."

She let go. "Sorry, I-"

"Don't you think she's a little young, Tony?" Rhodey had just walked in.

Sarah turned bright red and sat back down in her original spot.

"Rhodey, that's the second time today. Why do you like to barge in so much?" Tony said.

"I came to make sure that you got home in one piece. Who's this?"

As he said their names, he motioned toward each one. "Rhodey this is Sarah, Sarah this is Rhodey. She'll be staying here for a while."

Sarah waved. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too." James said. "Would you excuse us please?" he grabbed Tony by the arm and dragged him out of Sarah's hearing. "What were you thinking, Tony?"

"What do you mean? She doesn't have anywhere to go. So I figured, why not?" he shrugged.

"Why not?" he shook his head. "Doesn't she have a family? Sh-"

"No, she doesn't. She's an orphan."

He calmed down a little bit. "If you think she should stay here, then...okay. But I don't really like this situation and neither will Pepper."

"Pepper? Where is she? I haven't seen her yet."

Jarvis answered. "She's out running a few errands, Mr. Stark."

James looked at Tony, confused. "You didn't ask him yet?"

"Well, I was kind of busy. I got sidetracked." he said.

"Sir, I would like you to know that your guest is on fire." the AI system informed them.

"What?" they both said at the same time.

**Sorry, I have to cut it off like that so this chapter won't be two million words long. I'll update sometime today or tomorrow but not without one review! Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

_Hey, thanks for the reviews. I don't own anything.  
_

**Chapter 5**

Tony and James ran toward the main room. Pepper was standing by the door staring at Sarah in shock and awe.

She _was_ on fire. The flames covered her upper body. They were working down her legs. Oddly enough, she was smiling.

"Wh-what's going on?" Pepper asked. She didn't take her eyes off Sarah.

"I have no clue." Tony answered.

"I love this!" Sarah exclaimed and the flames disappeared. She sprouted wings and swooped around the room. She landed in front of them and let her wings disappear. "I'm Sarah." she held her hand out to Pepper.

She took it hesitantly. "I-I'm Pepper. Nice to meet you."

"It's a pleasure." she examined their faces. "I have a lot of explaining to do, don't I?"

"Yes." Rhodey said. "Tons."

They all sat down except Sarah. She was pacing in front of them, wondering where to start. "Okay." she stopped pacing to face them. "A few months ago, I was captured." She explained everything, up to her latest incident. "I was tried of waiting for you so, I decided to test my control." she finished with a sigh and sat down across from them.

Rhodey glanced down at his watch. "7:45. I've got to go. I'll check in tomorrow."

"Why do you have to check in?" Tony asked as James went to the door.

"I don't think you're capable of keeping her under control."

"I'm right here, you know." Sarah said.

He ignored her comment. "Whatever, Rhodey. See you tomorrow."

He shook his head. "Bye, Tony." the door slammed.

"So...you live in an orphanage?" Pepper asked, totally changing the subject.

"Yes." Sarah answered, slightly confused. After the whole story, _that_ was the most pressing detail?

"But she's staying here." Tony said.

"Really?" Pepper turned toward him. "Tony, do you realize-"

"Yes, I know all about that. Rhodey had the sense to enlighten me."

"Okay but she's your responsibility." she shook her head.

Sarah was appalled. "I'm _not _a pet and I'm not five. I can take care of myself."

"Well, you'll need some clothes." Pepper said. She flipped open her blackberry. "I'll run out and get some tomorrow." she punched a few buttons and looked up. "You can sleep in one of my old shirts if you like."

"No, I'm fine." a loud growling filled the room. She smiled sheepishly. With all the excitement, she had completely forgotten her hunger.

"You sound hungry." Tony remarked. "How about pizza?"

"Pizza sounds good." she agreed.

"Would that be the usual order, Sir?" Jarvis chimed in.

Sarah jumped and searched for the source of the voice.

They laughed. "That's just the AI system that runs the house." Pepper explained. She stood up and fixed her skirt.

"Yes, Jarvis." Tony answered.

"Did he make Jarvis too?" Sarah asked. She knew that he was smart and everything but a genius?

"Yes, he did." Pepper said. "I'll leave you two alone. I have a giant pile of e-mails to answer." she strode off toward her office.

"The order has been placed. The pizza should arrive in approximately fifteen minutes." the AI informed.

"Thanks." Tony said.

"Your welcome, Sir."

"Is she always like that?" Sarah asked, staring off in the direction Pepper had disappeared.

"Who?" Tony asked, following her gaze. "Pepper? She likes to be professional most of the time."

Sarah didn't think that it was _just_ profession. Every time Pepper looked at her, something behind her eyes changed. It was like she was hiding something. "I don't think that's it. She's hiding something."

Tony had noticed a slight change in her behavior as well. He frowned. "Maybe. I'll ask her about it tomorrow." A knock sounded. "That's the pizza." he went to the door.

Sarah, out of impatience, reached into her pocket. She found something hard and cool. Her mouth opened slightly in surprise. She remembered Alex leaning against her when he was administering the un-memory block but she was distracted by the pain to realize what he had done. She strained her mind, plowing deeper into her memory. He had lost his balance slightly and had used Sarah to steady himself. He never took his left hand off of her thigh and when he moved away something slipped from his sleeve into her pocket.

She pulled her hand out empty, just before Tony came back into the room with the pizza. She didn't want to arouse suspicion just yet.

"It's a little cold but it's still the best." he said as he set the boxes on the glass coffee table.

"I can fix that." she replied, a smile crossing her face. Her right hand became warmer and turned bright red. She placed it on each of the four boxes momentarily. She pulled away from the last box and her hand turned back to it's normal pale tan color. "There."

Tony didn't seem to believe her. "I think you can only turn to fire and grow wings." he opened the box closest to him. "I don't think tha-ow!" he waved his hand in the air.

"_What_ do you think?" she raised her eyebrows.

"I think I'm going to need gloves."

She laughed. "Very funny, Mr. Stark." she grabbed a box.

"You can call me Tony and I _am_ a humor box. Watch what I can dish out."

"Well, _Tony_, if you're so funny why do you do superhero stuff?" she took a bite of pizza.

"It's a part-time job except I get paid in gratitude."

She swallowed. "Why would you need any money anyway? Look at this place." she gestured to her surroundings.

"I think it's good to save...occasionally."

She chuckled at the brief pause in his speech. "I underestimated your sense of humor. No wonder every woman in Hollywood wants you."

He shrugged. "I guess with my good looks and money...your right. What woman would be crazy enough to turn me down?"

"I don't know. You can be...self centered." she noticed that he hadn't touched the pizza. "It should be cool enough now."

He pulled out a slice and took a bite. They ate in silence for a while.

After finishing off a second box, Sarah asked. "Why do you get so much? Well, I ate half of it but...by yourself?

"I like to have leftovers. It _is _the best." he answered.

"There isn't going to be a lot left." she yawned and set the empty box on the coffee table.

"It's been a busy day for you. I could show you to the guest room."

"That would be nice."

They stood up and she followed him upstairs. He led her down a hallway and stopped at a door located about halfway down. He opened it. "This will be your room." he said.

The room was plain. The walls were white. A full size bed was pushed up into a corner, facing a clear glass wall. There was a nightstand beside the bed and the rest of the room was decorated by a small, lone desk.

"Cool. This is the biggest room that I've ever had." she remarked. "What's with the desk?"

He smiled. "I'm glad you asked that." he went over to the desk. "This is new but it's my favorite." he slipped his hand under the lip of the desk. "Here it is." she heard a click and the floor in front of the desk opened up. Three computer monitors rose out of the floor and positioned themselves in front of the desk. "And the keyboard..." part of the desk flipped over, revealing a plain black keyboard. He turned to Sarah. "What do you think?"

Sarah was stunned. "I...it's awesome. How did you do that?"

He beckoned her to the desk. "There's a button right under here." he guided her hand toward it. "Feel that?" She nodded. "Push it." she did and everything went back into it's original place.

"Cool. I could really get used to this."

"Well, if you need anything, just ask Jarvis. My room is right across the hall." he started toward the door.

She nodded. "Okay."

"Okay, see you...later." he shut the door behind him.

Sarah kicked off her shoes. She sighed and sprawled out on the bed. After a few minutes, she sat up and pulled out what Alex had given her. It was a vile with a stopper in it. A piece of paper was inside. She smiled and shook her head. Alex loved the "message in a bottle" concept. She uncapped the vile and pulled out the paper. She unrolled it and read the letter thoroughly.

**Sarah,**

**I'm sorry. I only joined them because I couldn't escape with my memories. I'd rather have control and have to work for them than not having control and being clueless. You must know what it's like. Getting to the point, I know who's really behind all the testing. His name is Ezekiel Stane. He's using us to test his biology upgrades. Then, if they are successful, he uses them on himself. He says that he's trying to get even with Tony Stark for the death of his father. You're the latest breakthrough he's had and the most powerful. He's been putting himself through the same intensity of gamma waves as you have experienced. Nick Fury was really him. He wanted to prove to Stark that everything he's been involved with is working for bad causes. Fury was never really involved in the matter and before he was just a hologram. Remember how he never interacted with anything? Stane is trying to keep hidden. I'm risking everything by giving you this information. I hope you'll use it to the best of your abilities.**

**Alex**

Sarah leaned back and sighed heavily. Not only was she supposed to help the kids at San Hill, now she was supposed to stop an evil scientist. _My life is too complex,_ she thought.

She placed the note back in the vile and recapped it. She set it on the nightstand and laid down on the bed.

"Would you like me to dim the windows?" Jarvis said.

Sarah jumped. She had completely forgotten about him. "Yes. Thank you, Jarvis." The view was covered and the only light in the room came from underneath the door.

"Your welcome, Miss Paton. Good night."

"Good night, Jarvis." She pulled the comforter up to her chin and fell into the void of sleep.

_this is a long chapter! Please review. I'm not updating until I get two reviews!_


	6. Chapter 6

_hey, thanks for the reviews! I don't own anything._

**Chapter 6**

"She's asleep, Sir." Jarvis informed.

"Thank you, Jarvis." Tony replied. "What time is it?" he was in the workshop, repairing his suit. It had received several dents and scratches from the rescue.

"9:01 p.m. Pacific Standard time. Would you like to touch up the suit?"

"Later, when I'm finished." he picked up his sander and immediately set it back down again. "What is Pepper doing?"

"Miss Potts is currently-"

"Is she still answering e-mails?" he didn't want Jarvis rambling on about minute details.

"I would say so, yes."

_I'll do this later,_ he thought. He abandoned his repairs and headed toward Pepper's office.

--

Pepper stretched her arms and flexed her fingers. She had been typing for so long, her fingers felt like objects attached to her hands. They didn't feel like hers.

"You seem...exhausted." Tony appeared in the doorway.

She jumped. "Don't do that!" she tried to calm her racing heart. "What do you want, Tony?"

"I want you to take a break." he came into the room and leaned close to her.

She pulled back and eyed him curiously. "Why is that?"

"Because you work too hard. You need a break sometimes."

"I would love a break...but that depends." she turned back to her laptop.

"On what? Why does it have to depend on anything?" he leaned closer.

She faced him. "It doesn't but-" she stopped when, suddenly, his lips met hers and they were locked in a kiss.

After a few minutes, he pulled away. "See? It's that easy."

She smiled and shook her head. "It's not about the difficulty, it's about what you want me to do. I told you before, Tony. I'm not going that far."

"You're just plain hard to get, aren't you?"

She smirked. "I guess so." she turned back to her work.

Frustrated, he ran a hand over his face. _Why had it been so easy last time?, _he thought. Tony watched her work for a few minutes, trying to come up with a better argument. "When is the party?"

"What party?" she never looked away from the screen.

"You know, the annual party." seeing no recognition, he continued. "The one I asked you to dance at and you wore that blue dress."

"Oh, the benefit. What about it?"

"When is it?"

"Next week." she looked away from her laptop to see his face. "Why?"

"I was thinking..."

"Tony, I'm not going with you."

"No, no, of course not. I was thinking about taking Sarah."

Pepper jerked as if he'd hit her. "A-a little young, don't you think?"

He frowned. "Yeah...what do you have against her, anyway?"

Pepper turned back to her work to hide her face. "Um...nothing."

"I don't think so...every time you look at her, something changes. It's like...you're hiding something."

"I'm not." she squeezed her hands, slippery with sweat. She wished he would just drop the subject...but that's not him. "Sarah has to go to school. It's required by law."

"Stop trying to change the subject. You can find a school, right?" he knew he would get to her eventually. It was only a matter of time.

She sighed. "I suppose I could find a suitable school."

"Thanks, Pepper." he strode toward the door. "And if you change your mind...you know where I'll be." he went back to his workshop.

"I don't think that's happening." she muttered to herself.

* * *

Early morning light streamed in through the windows onto Sarah's sleeping face. Tony regarded her with curiosity. She reminded him of someone and he refused to believe it._ She's not like Pepper,_ he reassured himself, _It's not possible. Unless...she wouldn't do that._ He didn't think she would lie to him.

After his talk with Pepper, he'd worked late into the night repairing his suit. When he finally decided to sleep, he couldn't. His mind was too busy to give in. He wanted to know what Pepper was hiding and the thought of it wouldn't leave him. After a night of tossing and turning, he found himself in Sarah's room.

Fingering the arc reactor, he studied her thoroughly. He had noticed that Sarah acted a little like him, out going and ostentatious...but she also had a softer sweeter side. Like Pepper.

He shook his head. _This can't be happening!,_ he thought._ How could I have a daughter? Impossible! _He went over to the windows and admired the view, occasionally glancing back at the still sleeping form. After a while, he heard her moan and stir. Tony didn't turn, he acted as if he hadn't heard her.

A sharp yelp of surprise emitted from Sarah. "_What are you doing here?_" Anger decorated each word.

He turned slowly, not wanting to be set on fire. "Just enjoying the view." he motioned toward the window.

She shook her head and climbed out from under the sheets. "I know you, even though I've only been here for one night, and you wouldn't come in here unless it was for a reason." she raised her eyebrows, urging him to speak.

He passed a hand through his hair and sighed heavily. "Can Tony Stark _not_ have a reason?"

She smiled. "No, he can't." she gave up. "Is Pepper still here?"

"I think so...Jarvis?"

"Miss Potts will be leaving in a few moments." Jarvis replied.

Sarah slipped on her tennis shoes and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Tony asked, confused.

"I'm going to try and catch Pepper. I want to go with her." she hurried out the door and he followed.

"Why?"

"Because, unlike you, I like to have a say in my wardrobe." she glided down the stairs on her snow white wings in an effort to get ahead of him. She landed at the bottom and her wings vanished.

Pepper was right by the door. "Good morning, Sarah." she smiled but it was only a half smile by Sarah's standards. It didn't reach her eyes. _There it is again!,_ she thought, outraged, but she didn't let that show.

"Good morning, Pepper. Um...where are you going?" Sarah said. She heard Tony come down the stairs and stand beside her.

"Actually, I was about to go and get you some clothes. Would you like to come?"

"That would be great."

"I _do_ like to have a say, Sarah." Tony said. "Good morning, Pepper."

"Good morning, Mr. Stark. Did you get _any_ sleep?" she replied.

"Not much but I'll live."

An awkward pause followed. Pepper broke it. "Sarah, why don't go ahead and get in the car?" she handed her the keys. "Don't start it." she added.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Please. If I wanted to get somewhere, I'd fly." she went out the door.

They where silent for a few minutes. "So...did you think about my offer?" Tony asked.

She shook her head. "It's still a no. Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

He paused in thought. "If I were to...adopt Sarah, what would you say to that?"

She looked surprised. "Uh...I think that's a great idea."

He smiled. He knew he had caused a major breech in her layer of secrecy. "You're not trying to talk me out of it? If you had any sense, you would be trying to persuade me to wait a little while."

Pepper cursed herself internally. "Well, it's your decision, Tony."

He shook his head. "Just tell me what you're trying so hard to hide from me. I can't keep prying like this."

She sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll tell you when I get back." she started toward the door.

"Don't avoid me later and say 'I forgot'. Okay?"

"Okay, Tony." she opened the door. "Bye." she shut the door behind her.

Tony headed toward the workshop and wondered if Sarah really _was_ his.

* * *

"You really like it?" Sarah spun around in front of the mirror. The white dress stopped at her knees and was decorated with sliver sequins.

"Yes, I do." Pepper replied. "It looks great on you."

Sarah smiled. "Thanks." They had been shopping for a couple hours. She had already picked out some T-shirts and jeans. Now, she was deciding on a dress for the benefit. Pepper had clued her in to Tony's plan.

"This is the best one."

"Really?" she looked down.

"Uh huh. Do you want to get it?"

She smiled. "Sure."

She changed back into her clothes and they checked out. Once they were in the car, Pepper's phone rang. She answered it and backed out.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Pepper."

She frowned. "What's up, Tony?"

"I'm just reminding you about your secret."

She rolled her eyes. "I didn't forget. I'll tell you as soon as we get there." she hung up.

"Tell him what?" Sarah asked, curious.

"Oh, nothing." She felt bad about lying to her. "Just about the company."

"Oh."

They were silent until Pepper pulled up to the house. She parked and turned off the car. "Sarah," she sighed. "I lied to you. It's not about the company. It's...uh...it's about you."

Sarah blinked. How could it be about her? She barely knew her. "Wh-what?"

"I know you're probably extremely confused right now but I only want to say this once so..."

"You want to wait until you can tell Tony and I together."

"Yes."

"Okay." They both got out and went inside the house.

**Sorry, guys. I don't want to make this chapter a million words long and I planned it this way. Hang on and review! I want three reviews this time.**


	7. Chapter 7

_I know you're all wondering if Sarah is related to Tony and Pepper. I'm not going to reveal anything right here, just read it! I don't own anything._

**Chapter 7**

"What did you get?" Tony asked as the girls came into the house.

"Well, we didn't get car parts if that's why you're asking." Pepper said sarcastically.

"I know that."

"It's clothes. Nothing exciting." Sarah said. "I'm going to put the bags in my room. Um...wait for me." she flew upstairs, literally.

Tony frowned. "What was that for?"

"What was what for, Tony?" Pepper asked.

Sarah started down the stairs, normally this time. There was no evidence that she had wings. He shook his head. "Never mind."

Pepper sat down on the couch. "You two might want to sit. It's a shocker."

Tony was a little more confused than Sarah was. She already knew it was about her. They sat. Tony next to Pepper, Sarah across from them.

Pepper took a deep breath. "Okay. What I'm about to tell you is...I've known for quite a while. Please don't hate me."

"Why would we hate you?" Tony asked.

"You have no idea." she muttered. "Anyway," she went back to her normal voice level. "I...you..." she started to wring her hand. This was harder than she'd thought it would be.

"Just spit it out, Pepper." Tony urged. He hated seeing her distressed.

"Okay." she paused, gathering all of her courage. She spoke so fast he barely heard her. "Sarah's my daughter."

"What?" they both said at the same time.

Pepper said it slower this time. It was easier to say now that it was finally out there. "Sarah is my...our daughter."

Tony's eyebrows shot up twelve stories. "Seriously?"

"Yes."

Sarah couldn't believe it. Not only did she have parents now, but her father was _Tony Stark_. This was too good to be true. She felt that all her happiness was radiating out of her. In a way, it was.

Pepper held her hand up to her face to look at Sarah. Tony did the same. "What are you doing?" Pepper asked.

"You're going to make us blind." Tony said.

Sarah looked down. Her body was producing its own light. She had never thought she could do something like this. "Sorry." she said and the light vanished.

Tony couldn't speak. He studied Sarah with new light. No pun intended. He could see that she was his daughter, much like he had this morning. He could also see that she was Pepper's.

"But," Sarah said. "they said that my mother died."

Pepper shook her head. "That was false information. After I gave birth, I was exhausted and weaker than I should have been. The hospital kept me there for a little longer than normal and, after I was released, the flight I was supposed to be on crashed. I had a friend who worked at the hospital. She knew that I had missed my flight but she told everyone that I hadn't survived. She had to help cover up everything. So that's probably why you were told that."

"But they said you died in childbirth."

"That was probably a mistake when they transfered the records."

"Maybe." she tried to think of any other catches. She didn't think the whole pinching yourself thing worked. "But my name is Sarah Paton, not Sarah Potts."

"I gave you that name. I wanted you to have a different name just in case you didn't get adopted before you could talk. I was cautious and I was right."

"I guess." Sarah remembered the note from Alex. "I'll be right back." she ran up to her room.

"Why have you kept this from me for all these years?" Tony asked.

"I knew that you didn't want a daughter so I didn't tell you. I was so young. I wasn't ready to be a mother. I'd been on the job for only a year. I did it for her own good." she said.

"Some good that did her. I can't believe I didn't figure it out before. The long vacation, the sneaking around." he rubbed his eyes with his palms. "I'm such an idiot."

"No, you're not. Sure you were arrogant and selfish but you were far from idiocy. You took advantage of me, Tony. I forgave you for that. You should be thankful."

"Is that why you're so...hesitant?"

"That's part of it. I don't want to get involved just yet."

Sarah came downstairs in a rush. Out of breath, she handed Tony the vile.

Confused, he uncapped it and read the letter. "What? Stane has a son?" he blurted after a few minutes and looked at Sarah.

"Keep reading. There's more." Sarah urged.

He turned back to the letter. "Advance his biology." he mumbled. "Risky." he passed the note to Pepper. "How long have you been sitting on this information?" he asked Sarah.

"I just read it last night. I was going to tell you earlier but you just _had_ to show up in my room."

"What? Tony, don't freak her out already." Pepper had finished the letter. She was a fast reader plus she'd heard Tony's comments.

"Too late." Sarah said. "So...who's Stane?"

"Obidiah Stane." Tony answered. "He helped my dad run the company, and then me. But he went sort of crazy."

"How?"

"That's sort of a long story."

"We've got time."

He sighed. "Okay. I was in Vegas..."

* * *

In the days that followed, they got to know each other as family. Tony was going to adopt Sarah to make it easier when they finally _did_ marry...but that wasn't the most important thing. It would take a few months before Sarah was legally Sarah Stark. The public didn't know Sarah's connection to them, yet.

The benefit was that night.

* * *

Sarah stood in her room looking at herself in her dress. She stunned herself. She wasn't like "let's get a pedicure!" every two seconds but she could be girlie if she wanted.

"How do I look?" she asked to no one in particular.

Jarvis answered, as usual. Sarah had a habit of thinking out loud. "I think you look wonderful, Miss Stark."

She groaned. Ever since he'd heard that conversation, Jarvis had called her "Miss Stark." It was aggravating. She didn't want to jinks it. "I'm not a Stark yet, Jarvis."

"Not _legally_ but biologically you are."

"You always find a way out, don't you?"

"I believe so." it was quiet for a few minutes. "Your father says to 'hurry up.'"

"Okay. Tell him I'm coming down."

"I will do so, Miss Stark."

She shook her head. "Thanks, Jarvis." she didn't think he heard her. She grabbed her white purse and headed out of her room. She had never been out in public with Tony and wondered what it would be like.

Sarah didn't bother with her powers. Her father would be stunned anyway. He had no clue about the dress. She stepped gracefully down the stairs, thankful that she was wearing white loafers instead of high heels. She stopped at the bottom. "You ready?"

Tony gawked. "When did you get that dress?"

She looked down at herself. "You like it?"

"Yeah...do you want to..." he waved toward the door, implying that he wanted to go. He was still stunned. She reminded him of Pepper.

"Yes. In a second." Sarah was looking at the TV. It was a news report, well more like a celebrity report, about her.

"...famous assistant, Pepper Potts, has been seen with a teenage girl in public. Who is this girl and what is her connection with Miss Potts? Were hoping that we will find out tonight at the tenth annual benefit..." she tuned it out.

"I can't believe how nosy the press can be." Sarah said.

"You'll get used to it." Tony said. "Come on, were going to be late."

"Since when do you care about being late?"

"Well, I'm a dad now, I've got to set a good example for my daughter."

"I'm half grown so you only have to set half the examples."

"Which half?"

"Very funny, Tony." she felt uncomfortable calling him "Dad". "Let's go."

She followed him out to the limo.

--

They pulled up at the benefit. Hodge came around and opened the door. Tony stepped out first. The second he was in full view, every woman there surrounded him. They were trying to get a "date" with Tony. They stopped shouting when he spoke.

"Sorry, ladies." he said. "I'm taken." he helped Sarah out of the limo.

Gasps of shock sounded throughout the crowd. Reporters scrambled over each other for answers. Tony ignored them and walked through the crowd with Sarah on his arm.

Once inside, Sarah let go. She rubbed her eyes. "I'm think I'm going blind. How many pictures do they have to take?"

Tony laughed. "You might want to get used to it. That's how it is when you're around me in public."

"Great. Do you think they'll act that way when they see me? Just me?"

"Eventually, since you _are_ my daughter."

"I suppose." she looked at the crowd. "I'm going to have some fun, Tony. I don't know about you." she wandered off into the throng.

He shook his head at his newly discovered teenage daughter. She could be just like him sometimes. He walked over to the bar and ordered a martini. He turned at a tap on his shoulder.

"Hello, Mr. Stark." she greet him. She tucked back a loose strand of her blond hair behind her ear.

"Cristy?" he asked, failing to remember her name.

"Christine." she corrected.

"Right." he had this strange feeling of déjà vu. The bar tender handed him his martini. He took it without question.

"Who is the girl?" Christine Everhart continued.

He took a sip from his drink. "I don't think that's your business."

"I'm trying to write a nice clean article before someone else makes you look like trash."

"I've looked like trash several times." he shrugged and took another sip. "It doesn't bother me."

She shook her head. "You were always the joke machine, Tony."

"How would you know? It was only one night." he held up his index finger.

She rolled her eyes. "Can you just give me an answer?"

"Okay." he twirled his glass on the counter. "She's my long lost sister, happy?"

"No and that's not funny. Give me _something_."

He sighed. "Okay. But I wasn't your source."

She raised her eyebrows. "Promise Pepper not to say anything?"

"Hardly. Anyway," he paused, trying to build suspense. "her name is Sarah." he disappeared into the crowd before he could she could protest.

**Hey, people! Don't get mad at me for cutting it off. You got a lot of info. Be happy! BTW, I want three reviews again. Thanks!**


	8. Chapter 8

_Hey, thanks for the reviews! It gets more exciting and mysterious. My story is not just centered on Sarah discovering her parents. I don't own anything._

**Chapter 8**

Sarah leaned against the wall. She had hoped there would have been more guys her age attending the benefit. She was wrong. So far, no one. She scanned the crowd, hoping someone would pop out. Nothing.

Sighing, she headed off to find her father and...bumped into someone.

"Sorry." she said hastily and reached down to grab her bag.

"It's okay." a voice replied.

When she looked up, she was staring at an angel from heaven. "H-hi." she stuttered as she stood up.

"Hi." he said back. His beautiful brown eyes captured his innocence as he ran a hand through his light brown hair. "Uh...would you like to dan-?"

Sarah didn't let him finish the question. "Yes."

He led her toward the dance floor. They waltzed. "So..." he said. "what's your name?"

"You first."

"Zeke Sterling. Your turn."

"Sarah...Paton. Who are you with?"

"Nobody." seeing the confusion on her face, he explained. "My dad works too much so...my driver brought me here."

"What does your dad do?"

"He's a lawyer. What about yours?"

"Uh..." she hesitated. Should she tell him? He seemed trustworthy. Everyone would know eventually. "He runs a company."

"Really? What is it?"

"Um..." she looked at their feet. "Stark Industries."

"Really?" he spun her. "You're not pulling my leg, are you?"

She smiled and looked into his eyes. "That be kind of hard to do from this angle."

"Wow. You're not kidding. You sound just like him."

She shrugged. "Runs in the family." she was surprised at his acceptance of information. He didn't even question the name she'd given.

He laughed. "You're a really good dancer."

"Yeah. I've taken lessons."

"For how long?"

She shook her head. "You're not going to believe me...about two weeks."

"Two weeks?"

"Hey, I warned you. That was when I was nine. I guess it stuck."

"You're an interesting person, Sarah."

She giggled. "So are you, Zeke."

He turned when someone tapped him on the shoulder. "Mind if I cut in?" she knew that voice.

Zeke shook his head. "No, of course not. I'll see you later, Sarah."

"Bye, Zeke." she said dreamily as her father picked up the waltz.

"I can't believe you already met a boy. It's not even ten yet." Tony said.

"Yeah, well, maybe I'm better at the dating game."

He shook his head. "You don't have to be mad. I'm just protecting you."

Sarah raised her eyebrows. "Already? You've only known for..." she trailed off.

"Sarah," he said gently. "boys will do anything. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"He seems nice." another anonymous voice answered. "May I cut in?"

Sarah looked back at her mother. She was wearing a blue dress. "Sure. Thanks."

"Anytime. Go and have fun." Pepper danced with Tony as their daughter disappeared into the crowd.

--

Sarah leaned against the bar, scanning the crowd for Zeke. She couldn't find him. They would bump into each other eventually.

A blond woman approached her. "Hello, having a nice time?"

Sarah eyed her carefully before she answered. "Who are you?"

"I'm Christine Everhart."

"I'm not answering any questions." she knew who she was. She wrote for Vanity Fair magazine. Sarah had read her column a couple times.

"I'll make you a deal."

"I'm not two. You can't bribe me with candy."

She smiled. "That wasn't what I was thinking."

"What were you thinking?" she hid her right hand behind her back and let it warm up. She didn't want this to last too long.

"I'll ask you a question. Then you can ask me one."

"What am _I_ supposed to ask _you_?"

"That's your choice. I'll start."

Sarah smiled. She saw an easy out and let her hand cool down. "No, _I'll_ start. Do you know what I'm capable of?"

Christine seemed confused by this question. "No, but-"

"You don't want to find out." Sarah disappeared into the crowd and quickly found Zeke. "Where have you been?" she teased.

"No where. I saw you ditch that reporter. Pretty sneaky."

"Thanks. Wanna dance?"

"Your dad-"

"It's cool. Come on." she pulled him toward the dance floor.

"So...when you said she didn't want to find out...what did you mean?"

Sarah smiled. She had a good excuse. "I took karate, kung fu, judo...a lot of martial arts."

"Are you like a master of everything?"

"No, but with all of those methods combined...I have a black belt in Safense."

"'Safense?'"

"Defense and Sarah combined."

"It sounds cool. I'd like to defend myself."

"I could teach you."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"So..."

"Tomorrow's good."

"Okay. How will-"

"I'll find you. Don't worry." she turned at the sound of her name. "I've got to go. Bye, Zeke."

"Bye, Sarah."

Sarah tracked the calls down to her father. They walked out and headed back to the house.

* * *

The next day was Sarah's first day of school. Pepper had picked out a decent private school. Sarah had planned to find Zeke afterward.

She walked into her first class of the day: art. She had the teacher introduce her as Sarah Stark. It would be easier for her class to get to know her as a Stark now, instead of later.

She was given a seat at the back of the room. She shared the table with a boy. Sarah believed that the more friends she made, the more she would fit in. She'd gone through this enough to be an expert.

"Hi." she said to the boy's back.

He turned around. "H-Sarah?"

"Zeke?"

"You go here?" they both said at the same time.

Zeke laughed. "Since September. You?"

"First day. I told you I'd find you."

"I don't think this was planned, was it?"

"No. Do you think I'll fit in?"

"For sure. People are already talking about you."

She looked around the room. It was true. Almost the whole class was whispering quietly with each other. Some would occasionally glance at Sarah.

The teacher calmed them down and began class.

"Be careful." Zeke warned. "Mrs. Sutten likes to pick on new kids."

"I'll be fine." Sarah whispered back. "I'm a girl of many talents."

Mrs. Sutten explained the technique and called Sarah to show the class an example. She walked to the front of the room and confidently executed it. When she was done, she stepped back and smiled.

The teacher was stunned. She knew that it was a difficult technique but Sarah had done it so easily. "Where did you learn that?"

"Just a few minutes ago. You're a good teacher." Sarah replied.

"Have you taken art before?"

"A few classes, not much. I mostly taught myself."

Mrs. Sutten glared at Sarah over the top of her glasses. "You are a very interesting character, Miss Stark. Please return to your seat."

The rest of the day was like that first class. Sarah couldn't stop out doing herself. In electronics, she built a circuit board in the space of five minutes. In English, she wrote a timed essay with perfect punctuation, spelling, and grammar. In her computer class, she wrote software that could hack into anything without being able to trace its location.

When the end of school bell finally rang, she sighed with relief. She hated to be a show off but she was just too smart. Sometimes she wished they would just let her skip all the boring stuff and go straight on to college. It had never happened because she had never be in a stable situation before. Sarah met up with Zeke in front of the school.

"So...you ready?" Sarah said.

"You're going to teach me...here?" Zeke asked.

She shrugged. "Why not?"

"Because...I-"

"You don't want to be humiliated."

"That's...part of it. I know a better place."

"Where?"

He smiled. "Follow me." he walked off. Sarah, reluctantly, followed.

He led her to a park across the street. She stopped at the edge. She knew this park. It brought back memories. Horrible, painful memories.

"Sarah, what's wrong?" Zeke looked worried.

"I...um...nothing." Sarah, carefully, took step into the park.

"You sure?"

"Y-yeah." she gathered all the strength she could and ran a little farther in. She looked around. She was now standing in the exact spot in which she was found.

"Sarah, are you okay?"

She felt like the world was tilting on its side. She put her hand on her forehead. "I d-don't know."

Zeke rushed over to her. She used him to support her weight. There was a noxious smell filling the air and Sarah buried her head into his shirt to trying and smother it out. It worked and she began to regain her strength.

She pulled away and took a deep breath. She relished in the feeling. The smell was gone.

"You okay now?" Zeke asked.

Sarah did a mental inventory. Nothing hurt. She felt like she had a few minutes before. "I think so."

"You don't have to teach me today."

"No, really, I'm okay."

"No, really, I think you should rest."

She sighed through her nose. "Fine. See you later."

"I'm not going to leave you here."

"I'll be fine, Zeke. Go home."

"Okay, but if you don't show up tomorrow, I'm calling the police."

She rolled her eyes. "Bye."

A car had just pulled up in front of the park. As soon as the door shut, the car drove off.

Sarah made sure he was long gone before she took off into the sky.

**OMG! I love this story! Please review! I want four this time. See ya later, gator!**


	9. Chapter 9

_Hey, people. I don't really have anything to say here. I don't own anything.  
_

**Chapter 9**

Pepper threw down the magazine on top of Tony's work table in the workshop. "What is this?" her voice dripping with anger.

Tony picked up the magazine. It was the latest issue of Vanity Fair. Across the cover was a picture of him and Sarah at the benefit. The caption read "Stark's daughter?" in smaller print "see page seven." He flipped to the corresponding page. He could care less about the information in the article. All he cared about was the author. "Christine Everhart" was printed just below the title.

"Of course." he muttered and rubbed his eyes.

"Hello, Mr. Stark." Pepper said, sarcastically. "What did you tell her?"

"N-nothing."

"Tony."

"Well, I...just said what her name was."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Her _whole_ name?"

"No, Pepper, I'm not an idiot. I just said her first name."

"Well, I guess that was all she needed because she wrote a whole freaking article about it!" she turned from him and stared at the wall. Her vision started to blur in frustration. She didn't want this. She didn't want her daughter to be exposed to the press. She didn't like it at all.

Tony, seeing her distress, rushed over to her. He hugged her with all his might, whispering words of reassurance and comfort. She leaned into him, letting her tears fall onto his shoulder. She could feel the arc reactor pressing into her chest. Not so much that it hurt but enough for her to know it was there.

She pulled back, glanced at Tony, and then turned her attention to the floor. She felt exposed when he saw her like this. It made her feel weak compared to him. She hated how he seemed to control her emotions.

Tony gently pushed on her chin, forcing her to look up. His gaze locked onto hers. Neither of them could look away. Tony leaned in and carefully kissed her cheek, tasting the salt left behind by her tears. She shivered and turned her head. Soon, they were locked in a kiss.

Neither backed down. Pepper didn't break away. Tony took that as a signal. He moved his hand down her back. She pulled away for a brief moment and moved his hand higher on her back. Then she returned to him.

Stubbornly, he tried again. This time she pulled away from him completely. "Tony." she shook her head. She was going to say more but he'd gotten the message by just his name.

"Sorry." he said. "Usually you would've backed away earlier."

"You don't have to be sorry. I gave you the wrong message."

They didn't speak for a few minutes. Tony broke the silence. "Do you know when Sarah will be home?"

Pepper glanced at her watch. "Any minute now."

As if on cue, Sarah shot down the perfected hole in the roof. She kept her wings tucked behind her back and greeted them.

"Hi, Sarah." Pepper said. "How was school?"

Sarah huffed a breath and rolled her eyes. "Absolute torture." she spotted the magazine on the desk. She picked it up and started to read the article.

"What do you mean...'absolute torture'?"

"I'm too smart for that joint." she didn't look up from the magazine.

"Wh-"

Tony interrupted her. "Pepper, she's like me." then to Sarah. "What happened?"

She shook her head and set down the magazine. "Ridiculous." she looked at her father. "I'm a show off without being one."

Tony nodded. He knew the feeling. He always bathed in the spotlight. She was more like her mother in that aspect. She liked to stay off the radar.

"Anything else?" Tony asked.

"I saw Zeke again." she answered.

"Zeke?" Pepper said.

"The boy at the benefit." Tony explained. He'd put two and two together when Sarah had said his name.

Pepper nodded in understanding. "Does he go there?"

"Yes. Did you say anything?" Sarah said.

"What do you mean?" Tony asked.

"To the reporter. Did you say anything?"

"Nothing of importance."

She raised an eyebrow. "Nothing that would link me to you?"

"Nothing."

"She's done her research."

Pepper felt out of place. It was like facing two Tonys at once. She was sure that he felt the same way when Sarah acted like her. She left, muttering something about organizing the schedule.

Tony glanced at the stairwell, wanting to follow her but didn't. He'd catch up to her later. "Did she talk to anyone else?"

Sarah followed his gaze. "Who?"

"Christine. The reporter."

"She tried to bribe me but I showed her up."

"How?"

"Walked off."

"That's what I did."

"Like father, like daughter."

Tony smiled. "Yeah...did anything else happen?" He knew Sarah was hiding something. He always used a mask of emotion to hide what was bothering him. No one could tell that something was nagging him unless they knew him really well. That's what Sarah was doing.

Sarah's head snapped up. She looked nervous. "Um...yeah..."

"What is it?" She walked over to his computers, fiddling with the hologram projector. Her back was to him. Her wings were gone. "Sarah, I can't guess at it. Just tell me."

Slowly but surely, she turned around. "I was supposed to teach Zeke some moves. He took me to the park across the street." she studied her shoes.

"And?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I...it was the park I was found in." she didn't look up. "The farther I went into it, the worse I felt. I almost fainted."

Tony was shocked. Could memories really cause someone to faint, even if they _are_ really horrible? "Do you know why?"

She looked into his eyes. "There was this...smell. It made me feel noxious."

"Sounds like some nerve gas hit you. Did...Zeke feel any different?" he felt uncomfortable saying his name.

Sarah frowned and tilted her head. "Not really."

Tony passed a hand over his face. "It must have been specially designed to target your system." he sat down at his computer. "You're stronger than the average person."

"How do you know that?"

"I figured since you can change your cell structure...normal human cells can't withstand all the changes that you constantly go through. So, they must be more rigid."

She smiled. "You're not only a man of machines but biology too."

He shrugged. "It comes with the territory." he tapped a few keys. "Here it is. I designed a nerve gas that would knock out our enemies for a couple hours."

Sarah came over and stood behind him, staring at the screen. "Where is this?"

"The data? Stark Industries server. Why?"

"Has the gas been used yet?"

"Like in the military? Yeah." he turned to face her.

"Could anyone have access to it?"

"Only if they captured a base or broke into the company. Why are you asking this?"

She never looked away from the screen. It showed a design for the container to hold the nerve gas. She'd seen it before. When she was in the complex, they had knocked her out several times by placing one of those in her "room" that was more like a cage. "No reason." she said. "Just curious."

"Okay, then. Y-"

"What day is it?"

"Tuesday."

"No. The date."

"It's October the twenty-eighth, Miss Stark." Jarvis answered.

"What?" she hadn't realized it was that close.

"October the twenty-eighth." Jarvis repeated, under the impression she hadn't heard him properly.

"Yeah, I know, Jarvis. Thanks."

"Anytime, Miss Stark."

Tony looked worried. "What's wrong, Sarah?"

"Nothing. It's unbelievable how fast a year goes. I'll be in my room if you need me."

"Okay, have fun."

She smiled. "I'll try." she disappeared up the stairs.

**Please review. I want at least four again! Thanks!**


	10. Chapter 10

_Hey, what up! I originally wrote the beginning of this chapter as a part of chapter nine but I think it was too long. I don't own anything._

**Chapter 10**

Sarah sat in front of the three monitors in her room. The one to her left showed the hallway outside her room using Jarvis's camera. The middle held her sketches. The right and last monitor was the final product. Well what it would look like when she finally made it. She'd started this project two days ago.

"Jarvis, could you show what it'll look like on me?" she said

"Most certainly, Miss Stark." Jarvis answered. The picture changed. Now the virtual Sarah was wearing _her_ suit. It cut off at the neck and covered the rest of her body. It was completely gray, as of now.

"It may not be high tech but you have to admit...it's pretty cool." Sarah was thinking out loud again.

"I would say so. Would you like to start production?"

"Not yet, Jarvis. I have to find the right cloth first."

"If you wait for that, you most likely won't finish by your personal deadline."

"I know, I know but I have to find something that" she counted off on her fingers. "is fire resistant, doesn't tear easily, and changes shape with my body. Oh, add holes in the back for my wings."

Jarvis spun the picture around so she had full view of the back. He made two holes, one on each shoulder blade. "Any suggestions on the color scheme?"

"Hmm." she tapped her chin. "Blue and..."

"Hot rod red?"

"No, Jarvis. I'm not my father. Try black." While Jarvis was doing that, she used the middle monitor to search for a good material.

"The render is complete." Jarvis said.

Sarah looked at the picture. The body was blue. The boots and gloves were black. She touched the picture to the left and it spun around. The back was the same. "It's...okay. Could you make more of a variety?"

"I'll try."

She smiled and continued her search. "The only way I'm going to get the material I need is to expose it to the same radiation I went through."

"The render is complete. You won't make your deadline if you have to do that."

She looked at it again. "Not necessarily...this is better." The collar was black all the way around. Everything else was blue except for a black circular spot on the chest. Black stripes ran down each side and onto the legs. She spun the picture. The circular spot was absent on the back. Everything else was the same. The boots and gloves had stayed black. She turned it back around. "What's with the spot?"

"I figured you would want a decoration somewhere so I compensated."

"Put my initials there in gold." she started to look for a way to contain the gamma radiation.

"You'll have to build a lead lined chamber." he probably knew what she was looking up, being an AI and all.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking..." she looked at the suit. In the black circle there was now a gold "S" overlapping another "S". She frowned. "I'm not feeling it. Try two 'M's."

"Why 'M's, may I ask?"

"Alex called me 'Miss Morph' after he discovered what I could do."

"Is that an acronym, Miss Stark?"

"If you say so. I like that." Now the spot contained two gold "M"s overlapping. "Go ahead and make it."

"Estimated completion time is-"

"Wait. Do you think I'll look good in a mask?"

"I believe so." Jarvis altered the virtual picture. Now Sarah was wearing black a mask that covered the top half of her face. There were slits for her eyes.

She turned the picture around. The mask tied off in the back. "Hmm. Go ahead and make everything. I'll decide whether to use the mask when I actually try it on."

"As you wish, Miss Stark. Estimated completion time is six hours."

She glanced at her watch. "6:50. I'll test it tomorrow." She stretched and glanced at the left monitor. Rhodey was coming down the hallway. She pressed the hidden button and plopped down on her bed, opening a magazine.

Just as the monitors disappeared, he opened the door. "Hi, Rhodey." she said without looking up from the magazine.

He raised an eyebrow and glanced over toward the desk. "Hi, Sarah. What are you doing?"

"Reading. Nothing exciting."

James came over to her and took the magazine out from under her nose. He examined the cover. "You read this?" he showed her the cover. It was some kind of car magazine.

"Yeah. Do you think just because I'm a girl that I don't know cars?" she lied quickly. That magazine had been sitting on her nightstand. She hadn't touched it until now.

"I just didn't think it was likely." he handed the magazine back to her. Sarah put it back on the nightstand and began to twist a lock of her hair. "What were you doing before that?"

"Nothing. Just thinking." she was incredibly good at lying. She'd been stuck in some bad homes before.

"About what?"

"Random stuff. I don't think I could explain it."

"I understand." he walked over to the desk. He rested a hand on the chair, taunting her.

Sarah gave up and dropped her hand. "Did Tony send you here?"

He tried his best to look innocent. "Why would you assume that?"

She rolled her eyes. "Why else would you come up here? Not to be rude or anything...but your not the social type."

"That's true. I'm not like Tony. If I told you he did...what would you say?"

"Well, I would probably ask you to tell him that if he wants to find out something, he best do it himself."

"Okay." he started toward the door but stopped and turned to face her halfway there. "Are you really Tony's kid?"

"Did he _just_ tell you? Or did you read that article the blond wrote?"

"No. He told me a week ago but I never really believed it. I don't think Tony can settle down."

"Settle down? To settle down means to _think _about having kids but I've_ already_ been had about...fourteen years ago."

He smiled and shook his head. "I shouldn't have doubted it. You sound just like him."

"What? You need a blood test? Go and deliver the message before a glacier passes by."

"Will do, Sarah." He closed the door behind him.

Sarah made sure no one else was coming up before she sat in the chair and pressed the secret button. The monitors came up, still displaying what they had before.

She glanced to her left. Now, Tony was coming up the hallway. She huffed a breath in aggravation. "Do I _ever_ get a break?"

"You might when your father leaves you in peace." Jarvis, smartly, replied. Sarah chuckled. "I don't recall anything funny in that statement, Miss Stark."

She shook her head. "Remind me to ask Tony to give you a personality." she punched at few keys on the keyboard and a mask of fake activities hid what she really was doing.

The door opened and Tony looked around skeptically. Sarah pretended to work on something as she spoke. "Hi, Tony. Finally decide to come up, huh?"

"Yeah. I guess." he took a few steps closer to the computer screens. He nodded. He seemed to believe it.

"So...anything you want to know?" Sarah turned around to face her father.

He, surreptitiously, avoided her gaze. "Not really."

"Why are you up here, then?"

He shrugged and looked at her. "No reason."

Sarah shook her head and turned back around. "Was it to _admire_ me again?"

"I wasn't _admiring_ you. I was trying to figure out...something."

"Figure out if I was your daughter?"

"Yes."

"Anything else?"

"Why were you surprised at the date?"

Sarah blinked. That was a really random question. "Um...'cause."

"Cause why?"

She sighed and she turned the chair so she could see him clearly. This was going to be weird. Her own father didn't know what day she was born on. "Because my birthday's on Halloween."

"Really?" he couldn't believe Pepper hadn't told him that detail.

"Yeah. I was just surprised it was so close."

"Your going to be...fifteen. Right?"

Sarah smiled at her sudden thought. "Sí, su derecho."

Tony was confused. "Is that Spanish?"

"Sólo si me entienden." she stood up and started pacing, trying to remember her Spanish vocabulary.

"Come on. How many hidden talents do you have?"

"Lotes, demasiados para contar."

"Can you speak something I'll understand?" he was getting annoyed at his daughter's sense of humor.

"¿Qué entiende usted?"

"Um...no translation?"

"No." she said it with a Spanish accent.

"This is really getting on my nerves." he was desperate.

"Good." she stopped pacing and looked at Tony. "I had to test your endurance."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "Just to see how long you could go without confessing."

He shook his head. "It's unbelievable how much you're like me."

"Yeah...you done here?"

"Uh huh. Continue with...whatever it is you're doing."

She smiled. "I'll try."

He left, closing the door behind him.

Sarah sat down at her desk and removed the mask hiding her design. "Jarvis?" Sarah asked.

"Yes?" he answered.

"Could you wake me up when the suit is finished?"

"Most certainly, Miss Stark."

"Thanks, Jarvis."

"Anytime."

"Oh, and Tony doesn't know anything about this, right?" she wanted to surprise him and everyone else.

"No, absolutely not."

Sarah glanced at her watch. It was now 7:10. "It's amazing how fast time goes." after realizing she'd spoken aloud added. "Please don't comment on that."

"I wasn't planning to, Miss Stark."

**Sorry, about the whole Spanish thing but I had to add something a little interesting. Anyway here are the translations so you'll understand what she's saying.**

**"Si, su derecho." means Yes, your right.**

**"Sólo si me entienden." means Only if you understand me.  
**

**"Lotes, demasiados para contar." means Lots, too many to count.**

**"¿Qué entiende usted?" means What do you understand?**

**It's pretty obvious what no means. BTW, I used a translator that I found using Google. I know some Spanish but not enough to do what she's doing. Anyway, please review! I want at least four!**


	11. Chapter 11

_hey, people. I was having inspiration on my Indy story. Sorry, for the wait. Anyway, I don't own anything._

**Chapter 11**

Tony was roused by Jarvis's voice. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He checked his alarm clock. It was nearly one in the morning. "What is it, Jarvis?" he might have said it just a little too sharply.

"Miss Stark seems to be missing." Jarvis knew he couldn't tell him _why_ she was missing. He figured Sarah needed someone out there beside herself. Just in case.

"Where did she go?" he started to get dressed.

"She wouldn't say, sir. She only said that she wanted a test run."

He stopped halfway in the process of slipping on his jacket. "A test run on what, Jarvis?"

"She didn't steal your suit or make one like yours, sir." Jarvis said, trying to calm him down. He'd noticed his facial expressions.

He breathed a sigh of relief and pulled his jacket on all the way. "Did she leave from the workshop?"

"Yes."

"Thanks, Jarvis."

"Anytime, Mr. Stark."

--

Tony, fully dressed out in his suit, shot up the hole in the ceiling. He started toward downtown. "Do you know where she is, Jarvis?"

"I do not have a GPS tracker on everyone, sir." he answered smartly.

"Ha, ha, very funny." he landed in a cluster of buildings. "Switch on the infrared." his vision changed immedately. Mostly everything was cool colors except for a bright red spot heading strait towards him. He ducked just in time. "Jarvis," he whispered. "switch it off." he regained his normal vision. Tony looked around for the source of the fireball.

A figure stepped out of the shadows. She was wearing a suit of somekind. On her chest was two golden "M"s. She was wearing a mask so he didn't know who she was. When she saw him, her flaming hand went out. "Iron Man, what are you doing here? There's no trouble."

"Maybe you're the trouble." he retorted.

She chuckled and shook her head. "I haven't stolen anything, killed anyone. There's no mayhem here."

"That's true." they began to circle each other. His metallic boots clanking, her leather shoes clacking. "But you could cause trouble right now, if you wanted to."

"I could...but I'm not the villan type."

"Really? Why did you throw that fireball at me?"

She shrugged. "Reflex."

He stared in wonder at her. He could have sworn he had met her before. It wasn't until she spread her wings that he knew for certain who she was. "Sarah?" he said in disbelief.

She tilted her head and placed her hands on her hips. "I don't know who this 'Sarah' is...but she seems interesting." she smiled.

Just before she lifted off, he asked. "Wait, who are you?"

She hovered at few feet above the ground. "You can call me Miss Morph. I'll be...assisting you from now on." she flew off into the dark sky.

* * *

Sarah sat at the bar in the kitchen, staring off into space. _That was a close call, _she thought. _Why did I stay that long?" _she ran her fingers along her glass of orange juice. After her talk with Iron Man, she flew back, changed, and returned to her sleep. Amazingly, she didn't encounter Tony...yet. She'd woken up, without anyone's help, at 7:30. Since it was Saturday, she didn't have to go to school. This was one of those rare times that she actually _wanted_ to go. She longed to see Zeke again.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Pepper's voice. "Good morning, Sarah. I didn't expect you to be up this early."

"Neither did I." she grumbled. "I'm not a morning person."

Pepper poured herself some coffee and turned to face her daughter. "Did you sleep well?"

"I guess you could say that." Sarah took a sip of orange juice.

Her mother nodded. "So...no school today. Are you glad?"

She sighed. "I guess. I kinda want to see Zeke again."

"You can hold out for a couple days, can't you?"

"Maybe." she gulped down half her glass. "I might kill myself first." she smiled, proving her lie.

Pepper shook her head and started for the door. "You are Tony's daughter. That's for sure." her voice echoed behind her, the only company Sarah had at the moment.

She sighed and drank the rest of her juice. Tony strode in. He seemed half asleep as he fumbled in the fridge for the milk. After setting that on the counter, he opened a cabinet and pulled out a box of Corn Flakes. He turned around and jumped, dropping the box. "Didn't know you were there, Sarah." he mumbled as he bent to pick up the cereal.

"It's okay." she replied. "Did you sleep in your clothes?" He was still wearing his T-shirt, jeans, and jacket that he'd slipped on in the middle of the night.

He stood up and grabbed a bowl and spoon from the dishwasher. "No...actually, I met someone last night." he poured the cereal into his bowl and added a little milk. He put these things away and took a bite from the spoon.

"Really?" she tried her best to look innocent. "Who was it?"

"She called herself 'Miss Morph'. She a friend of yours?" he crunched down on another mouthful.

"I don't think so. Why?"

"Well," he swallowed. "she had wings and could set her body on fire."

"And?" she raised her eyebrows.

"Her wings were white, pure white. Kinda like yours, actually." he scooped another bite into his mouth.

Sarah huffed a hot breath. "I give. Yeah, it was me. Happy?"

"Not really. Why were you out so late?" he swallowed and took another bite.

"Didn't Jarvis tell you? I wanted to see if it would work."

"What would work? That confuses me. Your suit is made out of cloth." he swallowed.

"Yes, but it has to fit properly _and_ I wanted to find out if it would withstand my...abilities."

"It seemed to work pretty well." he took another bite, remembering the flames.

"Yeah but those are two things that I can control. I can make the fire spread between the thread and there were holes in the back for my wings."

"You can _control_ where the fire goes?" he stared at Sarah in awe, his cereal forgotten.

"Well, yeah, it's part of my body. I can change my cell structure, genius."

"I know that but...wow."

"I can do _so_ much more than that. Trust me."

"What _can_ you do?"

She smiled smugly. "You'll find out."

He shook his head. "You love to do that, don't you?"

She headed toward the door but stopped halfway. "Maybe." her grin grew wider. She left, the door sliding into place.

"Just like Pepper." he muttered to himself.

* * *

"Is it done, Jarvis?" Sarah asked as she strode over to her makeshift chamber in the workshop.

"The suit has been altered enough for your standards, Miss Stark." the AI answered.

"Great. Could I test it out?"

"Absolutely." Jarvis's machine hands brought the suit to Sarah.

She gently passed her hand over it. It seemed stronger than before. She slipped it on quickly, including the mask. She let the flames loose, not caring about directing them. After two seconds, she doused the fire out and her suit was still intact. "Yes! It worked!"

Pepper came down the stairway. She hadn't seen Sarah yet. She was engrossed in some papers. She punched in the code without looking up and entered. "Okay, Tony, I need you to sign some pa..." she looked up at Sarah. "pers. Who are you? How did you get in here?"

Sarah smiled. "I'm a friend and I'm a good hacker." she sprouted wings and shot out of the house.

"Weird." Pepper muttered. "Jarvis, where's Tony?"

"He's-" Jarvis started.

"Right here." Tony finished. He was right behind her. "You wanna know who that was?"

"Yes," she turned around. "I like to know who's in the house."

Tony laughed. "No robber can stand up to my security system. That was Sarah. I hope she doesn't run into the press."

"_That_ _was Sarah?_" she pointed toward the circular ramp that lead outside.

"Yes. She's inherited my secret keeping skills."

"Yours? Didn't I hide her from you for fourteen years?"

"Yeah but whenever I brought up your 'vacation' you changed slightly. Where as I can keep a secret no matter what someone says."

"When have you ever had to keep a secret, Tony?"

"Uh...once, I couldn't tell anyone I was Iron Man."

"Yeah, for how long? Two minutes?" she shook her head. "You're relentless."

He came closer. "I know." he kissed her, just the barest touch to the lips. He pulled back and smiled.

"Tony, you know my answer." she was getting annoyed at his stubbornness.

He passed a hand through his hair. "Sarah's birthday is Monday."

She nodded. "Yeah, I was going to tell you earlier but-"

He put a finger to her lips. "Shh. I understand." he backed away toward his "Stark 5" car.

"Where are you going?" Pepper asked.

"I'm going to find the heir to the Stark fortune. Would you like to come?" he opened the passenger door.

She smiled and shook her head. "Sure, Tony. Let's hope she's alright." she set her papers down on the table and climbed in. He shut the door and got in the driver's seat.

"She will be. I'm sure of it." he revved the engine and sped off.

**I hope you liked it. Please review. I would like at least three before I update. Thanks!**


	12. Chapter 12

_Hey, people. I don't really have anything to say so...I don't own anything._

**Chapter 12**

Colonel James Rhodes entered the room. "What is it this time?" he asked as he studied the displays.

"It's another bogey, sir." someone said through all the chaos.

He raised an eyebrow. "_Another_ bogey?"

"Affirmative...but it's smaller and slower."

He moved toward the voice. "Where is it headed?" he examined the screen.

"Right toward us, sir."

"Toward_ us_? You mean..._here?_" he pointed at the ground.

"Affirmative." he paused. "Do you think it's..." he trailed off.

James knew what he was trying to say. He thought that it was _another_ suit like Iron Man. He shook his head. "I don't know. I've got to make a call." he picked up the phone and dialed Tony's number.

He picked up on the second ring. "Hello?"

Rhodey sighed in relief. "Where are you, Tony?"

"Uh...I'm out at the moment."

"Out _where_?"

He chuckled. "Talk about déjà vu. I'm driving."

"To the canyon?" he said, remembering his first excuse.

"No, Rhodey. Actually, I'm looking for Sarah."

"You _lost_ your daughter? Pepper is going to kill you."

"I don't think she will."

"We're getting off subject. Another bogey has been spotted. It's...about half your size. Is there anything I should know?"

"Not...really. Where's it headed?"

"Here."

"You mean...the base?"

"Yes." Rhodey heard car tires screeching and Pepper's reprimanding voice.

He spoke away from the phone. "Sorry, Pepper." his voice became clearer. "I'm on my way."

"_You're_ coming?"

"Yeah...I think this is partially my fault. If she gets there before me...just don't do anything to her."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'll explain when I get there." click.

Rhody sighed and put the phone down. "Don't deploy anything. We'll get answers soon enough." he started to the door but was stopped by a voice.

"Answers from who, sir?"

He turned around to face the owner of the voice. He had dark hair and brown eyes. "Tony Stark. He'll be arriving in a few minutes." The private saluted and turned around. "Private?"

He turned to face him. "Yes, sir?"

"Would you mind keeping me posted on the bogey?"

He shook his head. "Not at all, sir."

"Great. Keep up the good work." he saluted and left the room.

* * *

The landscape flew past the windows in a green-gray blur as the car accelerated.

"Tony," Pepper asked. "could you slow down a bit?"

"Sorry, can't do that. Don't want to take any chances." he said.

"What are you talking about? Who was on the phone?"

"Rhodey. They spotted another bogey. I think it's Sarah."

She raised her eyebrows. "_Sarah?_ Can she go _that_ high?"

"Well, she does have supernatural abilities."

"Where are we going?"

He looked over at her and smiled. "We'll be there in a few minutes."

The car hit top speed as it sped toward the base.

* * *

Sarah landed gracefully at the gate. The guard stared in awe at her.

"I request an audience with highest member on staff." she said in a business-like tone.

"I will need to know who you are first." the guard answered, his eyes locked on her wings.

She followed his gaze. "You're not going crazy. I'm Miss Morph." He tilted his head in thought. "I only landed here because I actually have manners...and it's not paying off." she hovered a few feet above his head. "Tell them that I'm coming." she flew over the gate and landed on the other side. She turned around. "Or I will."

Sarah glided across the parking lot and entered the hangar. She looked around at the fighter planes. She shook her head. "I can go _way_ faster than any of these hunks of metal." she muttered to herself. She walked through the hangar, examining the planes. She was still surprised that no one had noticed her entrance.

She stopped when she saw Rhodey and her father conversing quietly by the newest model. Pepper was off to the side, focused on her blackberry.

She let her left ear change shape. Transforming into that of a wolf. She could now hear them perfectly.

"...the bogey?" Rhodey said. She didn't catch the beginning of his question.

"Yes." Tony answered.

"Does she have a suit?"

"Yes...and no, it's just cloth. She made it herself."

"I guess superheroes run in the family."

He chuckled. "So it seems."

Another official approached Rhodey. She could only see the back of his brown head. He saluted. "Sir, the bogey has disappeared. We've lost track of it."

"Where did it disappear exactly?" James asked.

"About a hundred yards out, sir."

He rubbed his chin. "That means she's here."

"Pardon me, sir?"

"Search the grounds." Sarah let her ear transform into its original shape.

"For wh-"

"For me." Sarah said and stepped into the open. "Miss Morph."

Everyone studied her. The private turned around. She was struck by the similarity. He looked so much like Zeke. She wondered if he had an older brother.

"You're dismissed, Private." Rhodey said. The Private saluted and left. "What are you doing here...Miss Morph?"

"Uh...could I ask a favor?"

"Continue."

"I need to use your satellites to locate a certain individual. I would've hacked into the mainframe myself...but I didn't want to cause a cyber war."

Rhodey studied her. This was, no doubt, Sarah Stark. "Who is this...individual?"

"That's classified."

"I don't think that-"

"How fast can these planes go?"

"Uh...I'm not sure exactly. I would have to say at least...1300 miles per hour. Why?"

"I'll make you a deal. If I beat one of these in a race, I get to use the satellites. If I lose, I'll leave you alone."

"I don't think that would be...it's a risk for the government. We don't know if you want to use them for sinister purposes."

She shook her head. "You know me, Colonel Rhodes. I wouldn't do something like that."

"It's still a risk."

"Why not use the Stark Industries satellites?" Tony asked.

"Tony, do-" Rhodey started, he was cut off by his friend's expression. "You mean _a_ satellite, don't you?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. It can go faster than a normal hunk of metal."

Miss Morph smiled. "It's a deal." she and Tony shook on it.

* * *

"So...how's Iron Man supposed to track down someone?" Sarah asked as she climbed the stairs from the workshop. Tony was sitting on the couch, a chessboard was setup on the coffee table. There was a half empty wine bottle next to it. She raised an eyebrow incredulously. "Is that for me?" she gestured to the bottle.

"No. Come, sit."

She sat across from him. "What's the chessboard for?"

"This is part of the deal." he took a swig from the bottle.

"I don't remember agreeing to this." a half second later added. "Is the wine part of it?"

"No. You go first."

She sighed as he took another gulp. "Is there a wager?" She moved a white pawn that was directly in front of the king forward two spaces.

He rubbed his chin. "Maybe..." he moved a black knight in an "L" shape, putting it in the open. "I just want to see how smart you are."

She leaned on her arms. "Why don't you just make me take an IQ test?" she mover her bishop diagonally two spaces to her left.

He took another swing and moved a pawn to meet hers. "I don't think those tests are accurate. Chess is different. It makes you think...its strategy."

She passed a hand through her hair. "If you have to think, why are you drinking?" she moved her queen diagonally to her right three spaces.

"It helps me. Clears my head." he moved a bishop diagonally two spaces to his right.

"Alcohol is supposed to mess with your senses, not help them." she moved a knight out.

"You've been paying attention." He moved his knight. Now it was right next to her pawn.

"Well, it's kinda hard not to when anything you hear sticks in your brain." she moved her queen one space to her left. "Check."

He took another gulp. "You're pretty good." he moved his queen forward one space, blocking her attack. "But not that good."

She shrugged. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve." she moved her other knight forward.

"Can I ask you a serious question?" he moved a pawn forward.

"Was that the question...or is there another one?" she moved her knight again.

"Why 'Miss Morph'?" he moved his rook forward.

"Alex. He called me that." she moved the same piece.

"Alex?" he took another swig and moved his rook to his right. The name was familiar.

"He's...like me." she eliminated his bishop with her knight.

"What can he do?" he ignored her knight and moved his knight.

Her heart accelerated. "I-I'm not sure." she lied quickly and moved her knight.

He gulped down a big mouth full. He took out her knight with his king. "You don't have to tell me...just wondering."

"No. I...it's okay." took out his pawn with her queen. It all seemed to fall into place for her. She thought that if she said it aloud, it would make be true. She didn't want it to be.

He stayed silent as he studied the board. He moved another pawn forward, trying to distract her. She moved her knight. He used his rook to take out her pawn. She moved her knight again, taking out his queen in the process. "Check." she announced.

He stared at the board. He couldn't believe it. Chess was _his_ game. No one could beat him even if he was drinking. He sighed and tipped over his king. "Checkmate." he stated regretfully and drank that rest of the bottle. "Did he write that letter?"

"Yes. I'm going out." she stood and headed for the door. She had to find out for herself.

"Whoa. Hold on a sec. You're not going anywhere."

"Why not?" he put her hands on her hips.

She seemed so much like Pepper that it scared him. "How will you get anywhere?"

"I'll fly."

"Won't people see you?"

She shook her head. "I have many abilities. Like this for example." she let her body blend in with her surroundings.

"Did you..." he was feeling a little dizzy.

"You can't see me, right?"

He nodded, afraid that if he spoke he would lose it.

"Exactly. I'll be back soon. Bye." the door opened and shut, as if it was moving by itself. He pressed his hand to his head. His head was pounding now.

"Sir, I don't think it's wise to drink around Miss Stark." Jarvis advised. "She can manipulate you too easily."

"Thanks for the late warning, Jarvis." he muttered.

**I know this chapter was boring but I promise that the next one is going to be better. Review! I need three!**


	13. Chapter 13

_Hey, as I promised this chapter will be more exciting. I don't own anything._

**Chapter 13**

Sarah stood in the park. Her invisibility had been disabled a while back. She was standing in the same spot she had earlier. She didn't feel faint or dizzy. Nothing.

"Weird." she muttered and was about to leave when a voice stopped her.

"What's weird?"

She couldn't believe her ears. "Zeke?" she breathed. "Is that you?" he stepped out from behind the slide.

"Yeah," he said. "It's me."

She ran toward him, letting her wings melted back into her body. It felt like she hadn't seen him in years. She hugged him tightly, smelling his cologne. It had a bitter edge to it but was nice.

"Sarah?" he asked. "Are you okay? You're acting a little weird."

She blushed and pulled back. "How do you know that this isn't how I greet all of my friends?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Because...I know this is crazy but...I feel like I've know you for more than two days."

She smiled. "Me too." they stared at each other for a minute. The more she looked into his eyes, the more she realized that he spoke the truth. And the more she realized that she...loved him. She pulled in closer, her face inches away from his. He followed suit. She could feel his heart beating in his chest. "Nervous?"

"Yeah" he admitted.

She smiled. "Me too." For the next few minutes, they were locked in a kiss. Her first kiss. Probably his first too. She felt like she was in heaven for those few minutes. In heaven with an angel. When they finally broke apart she asked. "Do you have an older brother?"

He blinked. "Uh...that was random. Why do you ask?"

"Well..." she couldn't tell him the whole truth. "I was with my...dad at the base and I saw someone who looked like you. He was older."

He laughed. "That's Cameron. He's six years older than me."

She sighed in relief and buried her head in his shirt again. She started to smell that horrible stench. She recognized it this time. It was exactly like she'd smelled so many times before in the complex. She tried to pull away but Zeke held her firmly in place. She tired to do something but, like before in the clearing, nothing happened. Eventually, she slumped against him, hanging on to the last second.

"Relax, Sarah." his voice had become deeper and his body taller. "It'll be over soon."

She didn't want to but she was left with no choice. Everything went black.

* * *

Pepper entered the room. She spotted Tony, rubbing his temples. Her eyes went to the coffee table where the empty wine bottle sat. She shook her head and cursed under her breath. "Tony, why?" she walked over and picked up the bottle.

He turned toward her, squinting against the pain. "Why what?" she waved the bottle. "Oh. I was playing chess." he waved toward the board.

She rolled her eyes. "That doesn't give you an excuse to drink, Tony! Who won?"

"Sarah. I'm going to bed." he stood up and headed for the stairs.

"Wait a second. Where is she?"

"I don't know. She left." he shrugged and continued up the stairs.

"You don't _know_? That's the second time she's run off today! Tony, we're going to look for her."

"I can't, Pepper. See you later." he disappeared upstairs.

She huffed a hot breath. "Jarvis?"

"Yes, Miss Potts?"

"Do _you_ know where she went?"

"I haven't a clue...but I might be able to narrow your search. She seems very fond of this Zeke character-"

"Never mind, Jarvis. I'll just do it manually." she headed out the door.

* * *

Sarah opened her eyes slowly and looked around. She was lying on a cot in a small white room. There was a small camera in the corner of the room. "Great." she mumbled. They were watching her.

She sat up and realized that she wasn't alone. The older Zeke was watching her every move. She sat up and found that she was attached to a metal handcuff of some kind. It formed perfectly to her left wrist. She shook her head at the absurdity. She could burn through that easily. She willed her hand to burst into flame but was instantly sapped of the energy. She gasped in surprise. "What?"

He smiled and raised his hand. He had some kind of cuff on too. There was a thin wire connecting them both. "Every time you try something, I take your energy away from you. Eventually, you'll be nothing but a vegetable."

"Who are you?" she asked, scared sick.

"Me? I am Ezekiel Stane...or Zeke."

She inhaled sharply. "No. _No!_ This is wrong!" angrily, she pulled her hair. "You're not Zeke. You're too old."

He chuckled. "Alex helped with that...much like you did."

"NO!" she felt like she was in a horrible nightmare. It couldn't be real. Her angel was really a demon. "You didn't."

He smiled. He seemed to be enjoying this. "Yes, I now posses both of your abilities." his hand became flame and he changed to look like the Zeke she knew. "See?" he returned to his original form and put the fire out.

Her anger made her forget about the energy sapping and she fruitlessly tried to bust out of the cuff. Again, the energy left her as soon as she exerted it. She felt considerably weaker. "What do you want?" she whispered.

"I want your father. Have you ever wondered _why_ you were kidnapped? _Why_ you were tested on? _Why_ you were left behind?" He paused, as if expecting an answer. She stayed silent. "I knew who you were from the beginning. I saw you sitting in your swing, attending school, interacting with your friends. I watched you carefully. Then, when the time was right, I brought you in. I put you through the testing. I watched you suffer. It was wonderful but not as wonderful as it will be to see Tony Stark's face when he sees his only daughter lying there, motionless. And then, to see him suffer just as my father had. It's his price to pay."

"Great. So now I'm an object of torture." she rolled her eyes.

He shook his head. "Exactly something _he_ would say." he turned the word "he" into a curse.

"He _is_ my father, _demon._" she spat the last word.

"Do you know where he is?"

"He's probably out looking for me." she laid back down. "He'll find me eventually."

Ezekiel nodded. "I'm counting on that." he smiled, basking in her fear. "You supply a sufficient amount of energy. More than your friends...but then again...it's your ability that supplies the energy..." he trailed off.

Her heart shot up into her throat. "M-my friends?"

His grin widened in pleasure. "Yes. Twins. Brown hair, blue eyes."

She drew in a shuddering gasp. _Please...no,_ she thought, _Not Jay and Avery._ "What did you do to them?"

"They are alive, I promise. They are not necessarily coherent...but alive."

"C-can I see them?"

"If you believe you're strong enough."

She rolled her eyes and stood up. "I'll survive."

He shook his head. "Follow me." he left the room pulling Sarah behind him.

* * *

Pepper drove through town, occasionally glancing up through the sunroof for her daughter. "Come on, Sarah. Where are you?" she muttered through her teeth. She pulled over to the shoulder and leaned back in her seat. She closed her eyes, sighing heavily in frustration. "I hope she turns up soon." she whispered to herself.

She jerked when a sharp tapping sound issued from the other side of the window. She opened her eyes and studied the man behind the tint. He had dark hair and brown eyes. His pale skin stood out against his black attire. Curiously, she rolled down the window. "Yes?"

"Uh...you're Pepper Potts, right?"

"Yes. What do you want?"

He shook his head. "I don't care how crazy this sounds...please, for your safety, go home. Stay inside until this boils over."

"What are you talking about?"

He leaned against the car. "I'm Alex. Trust me. Go home. Don't get involved."

"Alex." she whispered, remembering the letter. She nodded. "Right, thank you."

He smiled and steeped away. "I hope I'll be seeing you soon."

She rolled up the window and turned around, pushing the speed limit the whole way. As she neared the house, the traffic thinned out. She noticed a plain black SUV following her. Her heart dropped to her stomach. "Great." she muttered. She wasn't about to lead them to the house. She pulled over and sat there, the engine idling.

The SUV pulled over. The driver climbed out and walked toward her. She yanked her keys out and pulled the cap off her pepper spray. Tony had given it to her for her last birthday. "Pepper spray for Pepper. Ironic." he'd said. She never imagined she'd actually use it.

The man came around. He was not familiar to her. She rolled down the window when he tapped on it and sprayed his face. He dropped to his knees, clutching his face. She jerked the door open, knocking his head on it. She grabbed his keys and started for the SUV.

She climbed in the driver's seat and started the car. This was the only way to get to Sarah without getting captured herself. She glanced into the depths of the car. Alex was there sitting against a wall. "Alex!" she whispered.

His head snapped up. "Pepper? What are you doing?"

"Saving my daughter. Do you know where she is?"

"Yes. Let me drive." he moved toward the seat. She slid over into the passenger seat. Alex sat there letting his teenage body grow to that of a twenty year old. He started the car and turned around, heading to the complex.

**I always keep my promises...please review. I need at least three! Thank you!**


	14. Chapter 14

_Hey, sorry for the wait. I had to finish up a story. Anyway, I don't own anything._

**Chapter 14**

"How much did you take from them?" Sarah asked, anger dripping from her voice.

"Just enough. I have what I need and they're still alive. The only person I intend to kill is Tony." Ezekiel shrugged, a slight smirk appearing on his face.

They were in a room that was very much like the room Sarah was contained in but had two beds. The unconsious forms of Jay and Avery each occupied a bed.

Sarah was madder than ever but was careful to preserve her energy. She had to find a way to get the cuff off before she tried anything. "Just barely alive though. This is what I'll be like." it wasn't a question. It was a confirmation.

"Yes. Most likely."

She glared at him. She couldn't believe she'd fallen for him. _Stupid, stupid,_ she mentally kicked herself. "I would hurt you right now but I don't want to..." she waved her cuffed hand around.

He smiled at her helplessness. Just to show off, he shot a pulse of energy out of his finger tips. She rolled her eyes. He laughed.

"Where did you learn that, demon? Or was it part of my package?" she said sarcastically. It didn't really matter to her.

"Actually, that was before you and before I used orphans for testing."

"I miss those happy days."

He chuckled. "There's no doubt that your his."

She felt the urge to say "Do you need a blood test?" but stopped. It reminded her of her conversation with Rhodey. Somehow that comforted her. She gazed off, almost smiling at the memory.

Experimentally, he tried to throw a fireball. She ducked just in time. The fireball soared right over her head and collided with the wall, leaving a scorch mark.

Sarah felt a sudden rush of energy. That wasn't the first time she'd felt it. Before, when he'd shown off too. But she didn't know what it was until now. _So, it works both ways,_ she thought, _that's my only chance._ Sure he didn't give her as much energy as she gave him but it was enough. She felt restored.

All she had to do was egg him on. Get him to show off. Then she'd be out of the cuff in a flash. She smiled at the thought of his expression but said something completely different. She doubted he knew about the two way channel. "It would be nice to get a warning."

"I didn't think you needed one." his smirk grew into a wide grin. "Your just too much fun." he pulled her out of the room and back to her "cage".

"If you want fun, go to Chuckie Cheese's." she muttered.

* * *

"So, here's the plan." Alex said.

"We have a plan?" Pepper asked.

Alex was driving toward where Sarah was being held. "Yes. Anyway, I'm going to pretend like I kidnapped you. And...you'll probably get put in the same room as Sarah. After that-"

"Room?"

"It's a small completely white room." he glanced over at her. "Why are you confused by that?"

"Well, Sarah told us that you were put in cages."

"We were but that's for experiments. He ups his game for prisoners. Sarah's probably come up with some brilliant plan but if she has-"

"You're expecting Sarah to come up with a plan?"

He sighed. "Yes. She's like that. _Anyway_," he was getting annoyed at all the interruptions. "if she hasn't we'll do this: he's going to attach this band thing to your wrist that saps your energy. He probably already has the same thing on Sarah. So...he'll be in the room also. So if and when he goes to sleep. You ba-"

"He'll be in the _same room_?"

"Yes. The band will be attached to you and him. Please stop interrupting. You can ask all you questions after I'm finished. When he sleeps, bang his head with something. Doesn't matter what...it could be your hand. Then I'll come and cut you loose. The whole time, you've got to act like you have no hope. Understand?"

"Yes. I just have one question. What if he doesn't sleep? I mean, he upgrades his biology...so I was just wondering."

"No one can escape sleep. No matter how much upgrading you do. Unless you're hyped up on caffeine but that's a whole separate thing." he smiled. "Everything's going to be fine."

Pepper sighed. She was still unsure about the plan. "If you say so."

"Hey, I was just wondering...where's Tony Stark? Couldn't he help us?"

She rolled her eyes. "He doesn't know that Sarah's kidnapped. He drank a bottle of wine and went to bed."

"He does that...a lot?"

"He said he was playing chess...he's very complex. He'll come for her eventually. I don't want to lead them to the house, Alex, before you try anything."

"Okay, okay. Get in the back, we're almost there."

Pepper nodded and climbed into the back of the car.

"Try to act like you've just woken up."

"What does that mean?"

"Act like I hit you on the head and you just woke up."

"Okay." she sat up against the wall of the car, seriously doubting their plan and hoping Sarah had thought of a better one.

* * *

Sarah laid back down on the bed with a sigh.

Her captor smiled. "Depressed?"

"A little. It's hard to keep restraining myself." she rolled away from him as far as she could.

Ezekiel, once again, felt compelled to show off. He disappeared for a couple seconds and then reappeared like a flickering image.

She closed her eyes, partly because he was giving her a headache and partly to embrace the new energy. When she opened them again, he'd become a solid form.

"Done showing off?"

He nodded. "For now."

A small figure entered the room. He seemed nervous as he spoke. "Uh...sir, Alex has just sh-shown up. He has her m-mother." he was shaking and seemed focused on his fingers.

The demon nodded. "Tell him to bring her here."

His "secretary" nodded and left.

"What's up with him?" somehow it helped her to think of Stane as Zeke. She felt comfortable enough to talk to him more but still grossed out.

He shrugged. "He's new. Apparently he was warned of what I can do."

"Good for him."

The door opened again and Alex came in as a twenty year old, holding a struggling Pepper. "Here she is." Alex said. "I have no clue where her father is."

"I'm not worried about him. He'll come eventually." Stane answered. "Just put her in the corner over there." he pointed toward the corner underneath the camera.

Alex nodded and shoved Pepper in that direction. She stumbled forward and sat down in the corner. There was already a cuff connected to her left wrist. Alex handed his boss the other end and he attached it to his other wrist.

Immediately, Sarah noticed a change in her mother. She suddenly looked exhausted. Because she didn't have a special ability, her energy would be draining from her constantly.

Sarah turned to glare at Alex. He just shrugged innocently and left. _Some help that was,_ she thought. "Why are you taking her's too?" she asked angrily.

Stane turned to look at her. "I need all the energy I can get. Your father is very strong and I have to take him down."

"Well, if she's going to be here, she might as well know what your capable of." she said mockingly, secretly hoping that he'd show off.

He smiled and forced his hand to become flames. Sarah glanced over at Pepper. She seemed a little stronger but not by much. Sarah felt a rush of energy as well.

Stane's hand turned into it's normal form and Pepper slumped against the wall. Sarah felt guilty. She had the bed and her mother was sitting on the floor, gradually loosing her energy.

She looked over at Ezekiel. "Could I switch places with her?" she asked softly.

He looked from Sarah to Pepper and back again. After a few minutes, he nodded. "All right." he unhooked Pepper's energy line and attached it to his other arm.

Sarah got off the bed and walked over to her mother. She helped her up but Pepper had enough energy to walk over to the bed by herself. Once they were both settled, he unhooked Sarah's line and moved it to his unoccupied arm.

Sarah was mildly confused as to why he had allowed the switch but didn't question it. She didn't want him to rethink it. She only needed him to show off until he was completely sapped of energy. It would take longer than she had expected with the added factor of Pepper's energy but she would do it. It was her only chance.

**Please review! It helps me soooo much! Encourages me to write more! I might even update again tonight if I get enough! Hurry people! Click the beautiful purple button!**


	15. Chapter 15

_Hey, thanks for reviewing! Anyway, __On with the story!!__ Oh, I don't own anything.  
_

**Chapter 15**

"Mr. Stark, sir. I have urgent news." Jarvis's voice echoed through the room.

Tony groaned and rolled over in bed. "Can't it wait, Jarvis? I'm not feeling too well."

"I don't think it can, sir. Miss Potts and Miss Stark still haven't returned. I advise you go look for them."

"What?" he sat up and glanced at his watch. "It's six...a.m. They've been gone _all_ night?"

"It seems so, sir."

He was instantly awake. He rolled out of bed, he had no need to dress. He'd slept in his clothes. "Why didn't you warn me before?"

"I tried to, sir, but you refused to wake."

He sighed. "All right. Check all security tapes...everywhere. Look for Sarah and Pepper. Prepare my suit." he started out of his room and down the hall.

"I don't think it would be wise to go out without knowing their location." he started down the stairs.

"I know. That's why you're checking the tapes, Jarvis."

He was in the main room. Something seemed a little off. He couldn't put his finger on it. He shook his head. "You're just paranoid." he said to himself.

"I don't think insults will help at the moment, Mr. Stark." Jarvis said.

Tony chuckled. "No. I was talking to myself. Do you ever do that?"

"I only work within the programming you wrote for me, sir."

He smiled. "Maybe it's time to make some modifications." he started down the stairs to the workshop.

"Now is most certainly not the time, sir. The most recent sighting of Miss Stark is at Ever Green Play Park. Miss Potts was last seen driving a black SUV. License..."

Tony didn't listen to the last part. He didn't need it. He knew where they were. "Jarvis, is the suit ready?"

"Ready and waiting, sir."

"Good. Thanks, Jarvis."

"Your welcome, Mr. Stark."

Tony donned the suit and shot out of the workshop, desperately looking for his family.

* * *

Sarah opened her eyes and stretched. "What time is it?" she asked without thinking.

"Around six a.m." Ezekiel answered. He was standing in the same place as he had the day before. "Sleep well?" a smirk crept onto his face.

"Let's see..." she tapped her chin, letting sarcasm leak into her voice. "I'm being held by my father's mortal enemy who is taking my energy and I'm sitting on the floor of a tiny room. The only bed is occupied by my mother...other than that. Great."

He chuckled. "You're very entertaining, Sarah. I might keep you around after I've finished my business. You could be my court jester."

"That's never going to happen." she shot back.

He shook his head. "We'll see." curiously, he tried to stick his hand through the wall. He did. With unconcealed glee, he pulled his hand out and grinned widely at Sarah.

She tried her best not to look grateful as her energy was replenished. Pepper stirred slightly. She hadn't moved for awhile. He only kept the connection because he was still getting a small stream of energy from her. He was willing to push the envelope with her.

"Do you _ever_ sleep?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, I do." he answered. "But by using all my extra energy, I can stay awake for a while."

_Good,_ she thought,_ He's using the energy. I can work faster now._

"So...did that come from me?" she said, referring to his earlier trick. She tried to keep it causal.

"Yes." he said. "All I did was spread the atoms in my hand apart. Why don't you try?"

She smiled. "I would but I'm trying to preserve my energy."

He shrugged. "Your choice. I'm going to get it eventually."

She rolled her eyes. "Sure."

The little "secretary" came in again. "Uh...sir, we have a visual on Iron Man. Should we bring him in?"

"Do whatever you have to do." he said.

The short man nodded. "Of course." he left.

Sarah was wondering what they planned to do to take down Iron Man. He was practically invincible in his suit. She smiled at their probable failure.

"What are you smiling about?" her captor asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing. Just thinking about what you'll look like when I'm finished." it wasn't a complete lie. She'd spent most of the night imaging different scenarios. The rest of the night was filled with sleep. "You know, if you take him down...everyone is going to search for him. They won't let up until they find him."

He smiled. "They'll never find him so long as he's here."

She sighed. "Are you like a super genius or something?"

He eyed her carefully. "Why do you ask?"

"Because...you seem overly confident all the time. Like you're sure there are no flaws in your plan."

"There aren't any. Of course I'm a genius. How else would I come up with a way to enhance human biology?"

She tilted her head from side to side. "True but we are usually-"

"_We?_"

"Yeah. I'm sort of smart. I beat Tony at chess. Usually, there is one thing that we are more attuned to than the others. Like...Tony's really good at designing weapons."

"I see where you're going here. Like I'm good with biology. What about you?"

"I...don't know. I've always liked to learn new things. But I doubt that qualifies. I know a lot of stuff. Tony doesn't know _all_ of my talents."

"Why do you call him 'Tony' all the time and not 'Dad'?"

"Well..." she stopped. It was strange how easy it was to just talk with him, even after she discovered that he was bad. She shuddered at the thought. She tried to continue as if she'd never thought it. "I call him that because...I've never really felt...comfortable calling him 'Dad'. I mean...I knew who he was _before_ I knew who he was. If you know what I mean."

He nodded but he looked unsure. "Yeah...you mean that you knew him before you knew he was your father."

"Exactly." she sighed. "It's weird...being able to talk to you like this. If someone is listening in, they would never know that I am being held here by you."

He smiled impishly. "I'm just passing time. When Stark gets here, it's going to be heaven on earth."

"Yeah, for you. For me, it's going to be a living hell."

He chuckled. "Good."

The short man came in. "He's here, sir." he seemed more comfortable this time, even more than the last.

"Where is he?" Stane asked.

"He's in the lab right now. They're trying to get his suit off."

"Tell them not to do anything else until I get there."

The man nodded. "Right away, sir." he hurried off.

Sarah bit her lip to hold back her laughter. She could see him running on his tiny legs. It looked quite comical in her head.

Stane's voice punctured her thoughts. "We're going to see 'daddy dearest'. Come on." he tugged on the energy line.

Sarah stood up and took a couple steps closer. She watched him unhook himself from Pepper. He walked out, Sarah being tugged along behind him.

* * *

Tony looked around him, tying to remember how he'd gotten here. He was flying and then...someone attacked him. He couldn't remember anything after that. He was probably knocked out.

He was now in a lab of some sort. He was lying on a table. There were people trying pull his suit off. So far, they'd only achieved in removing his helmet. A small voice ordered them to stop. They backed away. He sighed in relief.

A few minutes later, a man enter the room. He was being followed by someone but Tony couldn't see who it was until she stepped out from behind him. "Sarah?" he whispered. He knew she'd be here but he expected her to...be more sure of what she was doing. The look in her eyes showed uncertainty.

She smiled. "Tony, they couldn't leave you alone, could they?" she came to over to him and studied his face.

"Well, I'm a wanted man, Sarah. Can't help that." he felt as if he were talking to Pepper instead of her.

"That's true." her eyes became blurry. "How do you feel?"

"Fine. Just a little tired."

"Good. You have to be ready."

"Ready for what?" he glanced from her to the unknown man.

The man smiled. "I'm Ezekiel Stane. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

**To those people who have seen the Princess Bride: enjoy the small joke. If not, you get the point. Anyway, please review! A review makes for a happy author. A happy author makes for another chapter. So...review!**


	16. Chapter 16

_Hey, thanks for the reviews people! I don't own anything._

**Chapter 16**

Sarah stepped back from her father somewhat reluctantly. Tony could see the wire that ran from her wrist to Stane's.

"What is that?" he asked.

Stane laughed. "_This_," he shook the line. "is an energy line. Whenever Sarah uses her ability, I take that energy. I did the same thing to your assistant except her energy was being drained constantly."

He concealed his shock. "I must be pretty hard to beat then."

"We'll see. Why don't you get up? I'd like to see that unnecessary suit of yours."

Tony sat up and looked around. His helmet was just in reach. He could grab it, put it on, and fly out of there. Sarah would most likely follow. But he'd be leaving Pepper behind. He didn't want to do that.

Sarah shot him a look. It seemed as if she were reading his mind. Her eyes told him "no" but they held more than that. Behind the first message was...hope. She had a plan.

He nodded slightly. Stane didn't notice their silent conversation. He smiled and showed off again.

This time he disappeared and when he reappeared, he let fire overpower his hand. Then, he stopped. Sarah closed her eyes in relief. Tony looked slightly confused.

"I enhanced myself based on your daughter's treatment." Ezekiel explained. "Now, I can do what she can."

"Great. That's just what I need." Tony said.

Stane smiled at his expression. Tony seemed helpless to him. Sarah slowly took a step closer to Stane. He didn't notice.

"Was this all you wanted or are you dragging it out on purpose?" Sarah asked.

"Well, I was hoping that you'd be unconscious by the time he showed up...but this could work." he said.

"Where's Pepper?" Tony asked. He needed someway to find out what plan his daughter held.

Stane smiled. "You want to see her? Follow me." he headed for the door. Sarah followed only because she was attached to him. Tony jumped down from the table. He saw Sarah sped up and throw a good kick right at the back of Stane's neck.

He fell to his knees for only a second but that was enough for Sarah. Making sure that he didn't see what she was doing, she switched out the cuffs before he realized what had happened.

Stane stood up, rubbing the back of his neck and turned toward Sarah. "Nice try but you can't overpower me." he tried to demonstrate his power but as soon as he gathered the energy, it was gone. Shock overcame his features. "What?"

Sarah smiled. "You might not want to jinks things so much." she punched him in the stomach. He was knocked to the ground by the force. "Because eventually...they come back to get you." she kicked his shoulder.

Tony knew it was pretty hard because he heard a crack. He assumed she'd broken his arm. He smiled and shook his head. He attached his helmet and closed it. "Sarah," he said. "where's Pepper?"

His voice sounded strange to her through the helmet. "Just get Jarvis to hack into the security recordings. I don't know exactly." he looked down at Stane again. "Try anything and I'll break your other arm. Understand?"

He nodded fearfully. She smiled and sat on her knees. "You have nothing to fear." she chuckled and pulled him, painfully, into a sitting position by his hair. "Justice is _yet_ to be served."

"Sir," Jarvis said. "Miss Potts is being held here." a map appeared on the inside to Tony's helmet. There was a highlighted section.

"Thanks, Jarvis." he said. "I'll be right back, Sarah." she nodded.

Tony stepped around them and left the room, heading toward Pepper.

--

Tony busted the door down. Pepper was lying on the bed. The small moment of her chest as she breathed was the only sign that she was alive.

"It appears Miss Potts is unconscious, sir." Jarvis concluded.

He didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on the cuff attached to her wrist. "That son of a..." he crossed the room and carefully pulled the cuff of. He picked her up in his arms and carried her back to the lab with no problem.

He set her down on the table. Sarah still had Stane in her control.

"Tony," she said. She never took her eyes off her prisoner. "there were two others...could you bring them here too?"

Tony nodded. "Sure. Jarvis, could you-"

"Already done, sir." Jarvis said. "They are three rooms down." the map showed up again.

"Okay. Sarah, keep him in control. When _I get back_..." he let his threat trail off and stomped out again.

Sarah watched him leave with a smile on her face. She would help him cause misery to Stane. She glanced back at her mother, anger clouding her thoughts. Just for the fun of it, she poked his broken arm with her foot. He gasped in pain. She laughed. "You deserve it, demon."

He studied her carefully. "Why do you call me that?"

"Because..." she faltered. Half of her wanted to tell him but the other half didn't. _You're going to hurt him anyway,_ she thought,_ Why not?_ She shrugged mentally. "Because when I first met you, I considered you to be my personal angel from heaven...but it turned out you _really_ were a demon." she poked his arm again, a smile crossing her face.

"Yeah...well," Stane said. "I was a demon the whole time. You just didn't know it." he moved his good arm farther away from her.

"Did you take acting classes? I can't see you being naturally talented in anything except causing pain." she inched her foot toward his leg. He jumped in fright. She chuckled. "Who's the sacredy cat now?" she continued to circle around him, every once in a while jumping at him.

After a few minutes, Tony came back. He carefully set Jay and Avery on the floor next to the table. "So...what's the plan, Sarah?"

She turned to him. "Well, first..." she smiled devilishly at Stane.

Tony lifted his helmet. "Sarah, what about them?" he motioned toward the unconscious forms.

She looked away from Ezekiel with a sad look in her eyes. "Oh. right. Watch him. Make sure he doesn't move." she bent to uncuff him and then uncuffed herself. Tony aimed his short range weapons at him.

Sarah carefully stepped toward the table. Tony moved closer to Stane. As soon as she was sure that he wasn't going to try anything, Sarah attached one end of the line to Pepper and the other to herself. Then, she let her wings appear. She kept them out until Pepper stirred. Then, she quickly removed the cuff and attached it to Avery. The same occurred. Jay was just stirring when Stane threw himself at Tony.

Caught off guard, Tony was knocked to the ground before he kicked him away. Stane slammed into the wall, creating a huge dent. Tony ran at him but before he could reach him, Stane melted through the wall and came up through the floor at him. Tony was knocked to the side, damaging his helmet in the process.

Sarah, during all the action, had disconnected herself from Jay. Now she moved behind Stane, slowly but surely, watching and waiting for anything. Suddenly, Stane lashed out behind him. Fire erupted from his hands and enveloped Sarah. When he backed off, Sarah was covered in metal. He blinked, obviously surprised, then tried to knock her aside with his good arm. All that did was hurt himself. He held his arm carefully at his side and Sarah performed a round house kick that broke his nose.

Tony yanked off his helmet and charged forward while Sarah returned to her normal state. She moved out of the way just before the men went crashing through the room. Tony had Stane pinned. There was nothing he could do about it. After several minutes of struggling, Stane sighed. "Fine. You win."

Tony smiled. "Good." he knocked him out and stood up. "Let's get out of here before he wakes up." he said to Sarah and the now awake Pepper, Jay, and Avery.

Sarah shook her head. "No."

"Sarah, be reasonable. As soon as he wakes up-" he didn't get to finish.

"As soon as he wakes up, he'll start all over. The experiments, hunting you down. I can't take it anymore. I don't want anyone else to get hurt at my- your expense."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "_Your_ expense? Why would he want to hurt you?"

"He already did...several times." she shifted uncomfortably and looked at her feet.

Somehow he knew not to press further. He sighed. "Fine. He wants me. You go. Take them with you..." he jerked his head toward the other people in the room. "especially Pepper."

She looked into his eyes meaningfully. "No, Tony. I'm _not_ going anywhere. I want to end him as much as you do."

"We don't have time for this, Sarah. You're _leaving_. I can't-"

"No, Dad. I want-" she stopped when she saw his face. That was the first time she'd called him that. It just came naturally. She hadn't even realized she'd done it until now. Everyone in the room was frozen in shock.

He finally understood the gravity of the situation. He nodded. "Okay. Pepper, is there a...car of some sort outside?"

Pepper melted when she'd heard her name. "I think there's an SUV."

"Take them back to the house. Wait an hour. If we're not back my then, call Rhodey."

She nodded and left the room, Jay and Avery silently following her. No one had noticed the slight change in their enemy's position on the ground.

**ooo cliffe! Reviews do wonderful things. They encourage the outhor to write faster! Review, people!**


	17. Chapter 17

_Hey, peeps. Thanks, Jax Solo for reviewing. I don't own anything._

**Chapter 17**

Sarah took a step closer to Tony. "I know what you're thinking." she said. "I didn't play the 'Dad' card to persuade you. It just slipped out naturally."

"I know, Sarah." he said. "It was just..."

"New?"

"Sure. What are we going to do about him?" he waved behind him.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I think we should wait until he wakes up. It wouldn't feel right to kill him without giving him a chance to defend himself. I'm not that evil."

He smiled. "Suddenly you're a humanitarian. Where did this come from?"

She shook her head. "I'm not a cold-blooded killer, Tony. I want to hurt him as much as you do...but it doesn't seem right. He should have a fighting chance no matter how bad he is."

He nodded. "Okay. I'll just..." he turned around. Stane was gone. "Where is-" he was knocked to the ground by Stane. He had melted through the ceiling and was now sitting on Tony's stomach, a device in his hand. Tony struggled but never succeeded in kicking him off.

"If you don't cooperate, Stark, Sarah will receive a beating. We don't want that now, do we?" Stane smirked.

Tony stopped struggling. Sarah took a step forward. Stane raised an eyebrow at Tony.

"Sarah," Tony said. "stay put." he didn't want anything to happen to her. He'd give his life to ensure her safety.

Sarah unwillingly obliged. She didn't want anything to happen to him either. She racked her brain, trying to figure out how to save her father.

"Good." Stane purred. "Now let's get rid of this hunk of metal, shall we?" he applied the device to the arc reactor.

"No." Sarah whispered.

Stane smiled. "Don't worry, Sarah. You'll follow shortly after him."

Tony was focused on the arc reactor. "Like father, like son, huh?" he smiled weakly. It didn't reach his eyes.

"I suppose...but I'll succeed where he failed." he nodded in Sarah's direction. "With a bonus."

"Probably will." he grunted as the reactor left his chest. "I don't have a backup this time." he gulped air, struggling to breathe.

Stane smiled and set the arc reactor on the table. "I'll let that work it's magic while I deal with your daughter." he stood up and started toward Sarah.

Her face was frozen in shock. She'd never seen Tony so helpless before. She let the shock fuel her anger. She was going to have to fight past Ezekiel to save her father. She didn't have that much time.

She charged forward, willing her skin to change to metal. She threw a hard blow at his already broken arm. He stumbled backward. "Nice try."

He shot a pulse of energy through his fingertips. Sarah dodged it easily. She jumped back, moving away from her father's dying form. Stane followed. He shot fire from his hands. It just glanced off her hard outer covering. Sarah shot water at him, a plan forming in her head.

He was soaked throughly and dazed but it didn't harm him. He laughed. "Is that the best you could do?" he shot and electrical pulse at her. She was shocked both mentally and physically. She quickly melted through the floor and came back up behind him. She shot more water at him, looking around for something electrical. She didn't think shooting electricity through her metal body was a good idea and she didn't want to remove her protection either.

During the action, Tony had crawled toward the table. He gripped the arc reactor but he didn't have enough energy to put it back in. "Sarah." he croaked and threw it to her. She caught it easily and tapped it against Stane's skin. He was shocked violently.

She didn't remove the it until he collapsed on the floor, lifeless. She ran back to her father, letting her armor melt back into skin. She quickly attached the arc reactor.

He didn't respond.

"Come on, Tony." she whispered. "I know you can do it. Stay with me." she touched the reactor with one finger, sending a jolt through it in an effort to get his heart pumping.

No response.

Her eyes filled with tears. "Come on. You survived connected to a car battery. I _know _you can survive this." she shocked him again.

No response.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. "Please, no. Please." she shocked him.

Still no response.

She began to sob. She didn't bother to plead this time. His body jerked with the shock.

Nothing.

She cried into his chest. "Dad, please. Come back." her body shuddered as she took a breath. "I love you."

Tony didn't move for several seconds, the longest seconds of Sarah's life.

Slowly, his eyes opened. He looked around. Sarah hadn't noticed. She was still crying into his chest.

He smiled at her. "If you don't stop soon, it's gonna rust." he teased, surprised at how hoarse his voice sounded.

She lifted her head. A smile broke across her face. "You're alive!" she hugged him as best she could. He was still on the ground.

Tony smiled and patted her head. "Either that or were both dead."

She rolled her eyes. "You're such a joker."

He raised an eyebrow. "And you're Batman?"

She laughed through her tears of joy. "No, Bat_girl_. There's a big difference."

He smiled. "Help me up, would you?" she nodded. "Careful." he added when a wave of pain shot through him.

She helped him into a sitting position. "I missed you." she confessed.

"How long was I gone? A few minutes? Surely it would take longer than that for you to miss me." he smiled jokingly.

"I thought you were dead. _That _only takes a few seconds."

He shrugged against his muscles' protest. "Maybe. Where's Stane?"

"He's gone...thanks."

"For what?" he faked a surprised expression.

"You know what. Do you wanna stand?"

He shook his head. "I think I broke my leg when I was knocked down."

She carefully lifted his left leg. He winced. "Can you move it?" she asked as she set it back down.

"I don't think so." he tried but only got pain as a response. "You're stronger than I am."

She shrugged. "It comes with the territory. Do you want to call Rhodey...or did Pep- Mom do it already?"

"I'm sure Pepper did it as soon as her foot was in the door. She's too protective sometimes."

"I'm going to see if there's a hospital nearby. Can you hang tight 'till I get back?"

"How are you going to-"

She smiled and stood up, letting her skin form to the pattern of her suit. "If there's a will, there's a way." she looked down at herself. "I don't know why I didn't think of this before. It's much easier than wearing a suit."

"How are you doing that?"

"Easy. I'm just letting my skin stretch over my clothes, then changing the pigment in the cells. It feels kinda weird but it'll work for now." her face was covered in a "mask" as she strode to the wall. "Don't move. I won't leave you alone for too long." she smiled and slipped through the wall to the outside.

**Yay! Good rules over evil! Please review. It makes me happy. (and if you want another chapter sooner...wink, wink)**


	18. Chapter 18

_Hey, I bet that gets annoying sometimes. I'm trying my best to find a new greeting but for now you'll have to deal with it. I don't own anything._

**Chapter 18**

The first thing he picked up through his newly awakened senses was sound. Over a constant beeping, he heard a mix of voices. He could pick out Pepper's and Sarah's. He heard a deeper voice along with theirs. He assumed it was Rhodey's.

"I _hate_ this hospital gown." Sarah complained. "Why can't I wear my own clothes? I should've been released already."

Next he heard Pepper speak. "They want to do a final check first. You have to be patient, Sarah."

"I shouldn't even be here. I wasn't hurt _that_ bad."

"_You_ think _three_ broken ribs _and_ a fractured wrist isn't _that_ bad?" it was Rhodey's sarcastic voice.

"Well, they were already partially healed and I didn't even notice until they forced me to do an X-ray." Sarah snapped.

"Yes, but you _did_ have a lot of scratches and bruises, sweetie." Pepper tried to resolve the conflict.

There was a sigh. "I wasn't hurt as bad as he was. It's my birthday. I shouldn't be spending it in a hospital bed."

"It's your _birthday_?" Rhodey seemed shocked. "On _Halloween?_"

He could picture Sarah rolling her eyes. "Yes. It's been on the same day for fifteen years, _Colonel_."

Tony couldn't help but smile at his daughter's exploits. He slowly opened his eyes. The hospital lights were blinding. As his eyes adjusted, he scanned the room. He found Sarah and Pepper sitting on a bed in the corner. Rhodey was sitting in a chair by the door. "What did I miss?" he asked.

Pepper looked over at him. She smiled. "That depends on what you consider to be a lot." she walked across the room to him. "I missed you." she held his head in her hands.

He smiled at her. "I did too."

Pepper bent down to kiss him, just the barest touch of the lips. When he protested, she said. "I don't want to hurt you, Tony. But I promise more later." she smiled.

"Oh, so when _she_ says that she misses you, you give her a decent answer...but when _I_ say it, you come up with some snide remark? What has the world come to?" Sarah said.

Pepper walked around to the other side of his bed so he could see their daughter. "Hey, I just woke up. At least give me ten minutes." he said, faking a yawn.

"_I _saved _your_ life, buster. You owe me big time." she said.

He chuckled, ignoring the pain that presented itself. "I promise I'll get you something nice for your birthday. Is that good enough?"

She frowned, as if debating whether or not it was a good offer. "For now." she was sitting with her back to the head board, sketching something on a notepad positioned on her lap. He had to say that she looked odd in a hospital gown. She had too much personality to be wearing something that plain.

She smiled at him. "You look handsome too."

He blinked in surprise. "Can you read minds now?"

She shook her head. "No. I can read you face. It's like your thoughts are painted on your forehead." she sighed when a nurse walked in. "Give me a break." she slouched down, using her pillow to cover her face.

Tony and Pepper smiled at each other. He heard Rhodey's quiet laughter.

"She's just frustrated." Pepper assured him. "She hates being trapped."

He nodded. "I know the feeling."

"Mr. Stark," the nurse said, flipping through the pages on her clipboard. "you've recovered very quickly from your surgery. I'm impressed."

"Surgery?" he asked.

Pepper was opened her mouth to explain but the nurse beat her to it.

"Yes." she looked confused for a brief second but it disappeared quickly. "You probably don't remember. You were barely conscious when you were brought in. We had to remove the pieces of metal that had been lodged into your skin. We couldn't remove the shrapnel in your chest, though...so your life still depends on your invention. But other than that, you're perfectly healthy. You'll have to keep that cast on for a couple weeks. It was a clean break so it should heal rather quickly. We recommend that you stay here for a couple more days to make sure there are no other complications. We know price is not a concern with you, Mr. Stark." she took a deep breath.

He nodded. He'd been through this several times before. He knew the drill. "And Sarah?"

She nodded. "She'll be released sometime today. She healed...well fast. Some people heal faster than others but...it was remarkable. Her ribs were already mostly healed when she came in. She claimed that they'd only been broken for hours. We'd like to run some tests. With your permission, of course." she handed him the clipboard. There was a consent form on the top.

Tony raised an eyebrow at Pepper. "Has-"

"Yes. A few hours ago. She's officially a Stark." Pepper answered.

"Did you do something?"

She smiled. "Maybe. I'll tell you later."

"Mr. Stark, if you'll please sign." the nurse interjected.

He turned to her. "Does it concern her health?"

"No, but-"

"Then, I don't see the point." he handed the clipboard back.

She seemed frustrated but, as before, she hid it quickly. "Yes, Mr. Stark. I'll leave you in peace." she left, the door creaking shut behind her.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Did you hear that? Run tests. As if. They really wanted to poke and pry like she's some sort of lab rat. She's a _human being._ Unbelievable." he clenched his fist in anger, his heart racing.

"Tony." Rhodey cautioned. "Calm down. We don't want to lose you just after we got you back."

He sighed and flattened out his hand. The monitor's beeping slowed with his heart. "Sorry, Rhodey. I just..." he stopped, failing to find the right words.

"I know, Tony." he came to his friend's bedside. "Do you think she'll handle it the same way you did?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, let's see...you were _supposed_ to keep it a secret but _instead_ you told everyone. That's what I mean."

"Oh. Well...in that case..." he tried to move closer to Pepper.

Pepper smiled and held him back. "Tony, now is _not_ later."

"It is to me." he pulled himself into a sitting position. "Why not?"

"Um...well...let me think. We're-"

"Don't answer that." he moved closer, this time gaining access. They kissed passionately.

Sarah uncovered her head and picked up her notepad. She started sketching.

"Sarah." Rhodey warned.

Tony broke away and looked at his friend incredulously. "What is it?"

"She's-" he was silenced by Sarah's loud "Shh."

Tony looked over his shoulder at his daughter. "What are you doing?"

She instantly dropped her pencil. "Nothing. Just drawing."

"Uh huh. I'll find out eventually."

She rolled her eyes. "It's not _that_ important." she waved a hand. "Continue."

Tony chuckled and continued what he'd started.

Sarah continued sketching. She glanced up at her parents occasionally.

Rhodey crossed over to her bed. Peering over her shoulder, he saw a pretty decent sketch of Tony and Pepper. They were interlocked much as they were now.

"That's pretty good, Sarah." Rhodey said. "Did you take an art class?"

She looked up from her completed drawing. "Picked it up here and there. I have many talents." she signed the bottom right corner and dated it. "Perfect."

Pepper tore away from Tony. She pressed a finger against his lips before he could protest. "You should rest. We'll finish this later."

He sighed and sat back against his pillows. "I won't forget, you know."

She smiled. "Neither will I."

"Okay, now that the lovebirds have broken up." Sarah said. She climbed out of her bed and sat on the foot of her father's. "You guys sure make a pretty picture." she flipped the notepad around so they could see it.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Did you have to draw us right then?"

She shrugged. "I knew you wouldn't pose for me so...I seized the chance."

"It's pretty good, Sarah." Pepper said. "Where did you learn that?"

"I've lived with many different people. One family, the Harrisons, were art fanatics. They taught me a lot. Ever since then, I've always taken art in school."

"I wonder how many other talents you have." Rhodey said.

She sighed. "To many to count."

The door creaked open. There was a teenage boy standing in the door frame. Everyone looked toward the door.

"Alex!" Sarah exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"


	19. Chapter 19

_Sorry, guys. These last few chapters are gonna be kinda slow. It's coming to a close. I haven't figured out how to end it yet so...it might drag on for a little bit. Please bare with me. I don't own anything._

**Chapter 19**

Alex slowly stepped in, looking at little nervous. "I came to see if you were okay."

"I'm fine." Sarah stood up, her drawing forgotten, and embraced him. He hesitantly did the same.

He pulled back, holding her at arms length. "You sure? You looked pretty beaten up the last time I saw you."

"Which was when?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I saw this...girl flying around in wide circles. She was wearing a mask so...I couldn't see who she was. But-"

Sarah smiled at him. "You knew that was me. I swear you could pick me out of a sandstorm, Alex."

He smiled back. "I know."

They leaned closer to each other, noses touching. At the last possible second, Sarah pulled away.

"I'm sorry, Alex." she said. "I just can't do it. I don't want do be hurt again."

He shook his head. "I can't believe you trusted him. You're original, Sarah."

"Hey, don't do that. I didn't know who he was. I hadn't seen him before."

He smiled. "I would never hurt you, Sarah. You know that."

She nodded. "I know."

"So...could you sacrifice a moment?"

She chuckled. "It's could you spare a moment, Alex. You make it sound like you're asking me to do something that's worse than death."

"It's not _worse_ than death. I think it's the opposite."

"Better than death?"

He shook his head. "Something to live _for_." he moved in closer. This time she didn't pull away. Their lips met in a kiss.

_This_ was Sarah's first kiss. The other one didn't count to her. It's supposed to be share with some one you really care about. She didn't _really_ care about Stane. She only thought she did. But Alex is very important to her. They went through the same hardships and experienced the same pain. He was her other half. She realized in that moment that she couldn't live without him. And he couldn't live without her.

They broke apart, gasping for air. Sarah smiled at him. "It wasn't so bad."

Alex smiled back. "It was wonderful." he clarified.

They leaned close again. A cough caused them to pull away. Sarah looked incredulously at her father.

"I tolerated you. So...you can tolerate me." she snapped.

"Well, it's different. You're my daughter." Tony said. "What was that you said before about being hurt again?"

She sighed. "I'm not available right now. Please leave a message at the beep." she pulled Alex in her embrace and they disappeared.

"I know you're there, Sarah. I can see the IV."

"Well at least you can't see _me_." came her reply from nowhere.

"Sarah." Pepper said. "You have to act like a normal person in public. At home do whatever you want. Please."

Sarah and Alex materialized. She stepped back toward her bed. He stayed where he was.

Rhodey sighed and headed for the door. "I've got to straighten this out. You always seem to cause problems for me Tony."

He smiled at his friend. "It's just in my nature. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Tony." he shut the door behind him.

"You." Tony pointed at Alex.

"Tony." Pepper cautioned. "He didn't do anything wrong."

"I didn't say that. I'm just laying down the law."

Sarah snorted. "You've only known that you had a daughter for two weeks and you _have_ a law?"

He shrugged. "It's the same law for everyone. If you hurt-"

"Tony," Sarah interrupted. "Alex would never hurt me and if it's the same law wouldn't he know? We're aren't even dating, Dad." she flashed a smile in Alex's direction that contradicted what she'd just said.

Tony sighed. "You know it's weird when you call me 'Dad' and 'Tony' in the same sentence."

"Not the same sentence exactly, _Tony_. I'm still getting used to it."

Pepper took his hand in hers, gently rubbing her thumb across the back of his hand. He smiled at her. She smiled back. He moved over in the bed, making room for her. He gently patted the empty space.

"Come on. I'm getting annoyed at the distance." he said.

She smiled and sat next him, their hands still interlocked. They faced each other, forgetting everyone else in the room.

Tony was about to speak but was stopped by Sarah.

"Before you get into all the love confessions," she said. "I'm leaving. Come on, Alex." she pulled him out of the room, her IV cart trailing behind her.

Tony rolled his eyes. "She can be so..."

She smiled and put her other arm around him. "Like you?"

"I guess but we she's like _you_ it's kind of scary."

She nodded. "I know what you mean. It's like facing two of me."

"Yeah."

"That's what I feel like when she starts to be like you."

"She's more like me than you."

Pepper shook her head. "No, she has a softer, sweeter side. She doesn't like to show it."

"Do you know why?"

"I think it's because she doesn't want people to think that she's too sensitive. She wants people to think that she can take a few punches before she's knocked down."

"Well, she can take a few punches all right. You should've seen her. She stood up to Stane pretty easily."

"I mean, figuratively, Mr. Stark." she smiled.

Tony frowned in thought. "You know, I never realized this before but..."

"But what?" she propped herself up on her elbow, suddenly interested.

"When I got off that plane..."

"When you were found?"

He nodded. "I saw those tears in your eyes. And I thought 'Wow. She actually cares.' I think that's when I started loving you."

She smiled at him, her eyes betraying the words she couldn't say. "I love you."

He smiled back. "I love you, too."

He kissed her, just a gentle press of his lips on hers. He pulled back. "Virginia Potts." he said it in a business-like tone but she knew it was still a personal matter.

"Yes, Anthony Stark?"

He smiled at the use of his full name. "Will you marry me?"

She smiled back. "How can I say 'no' to that?"

"Is that a 'yes'?"

She twisted her fingers in his hair. "You tell me."

"I think that _is_ a yes."

She pulled him closer and pressed her lips against his. He replied without a second thought.


	20. Chapter 20

_Thanks for reviewing people! I don't own anything._

**Chapter 20**

Sarah stretched and rolled over in her bed. "It's so good to be home." she muttered into her pillow.

"You've been saying that for the past three weeks, Miss Stark." Jarvis's cool voice echoed through the empty room.

She lifted her head up, her hair falling onto her face. "Your point?"

"Doesn't a certain phrase lose it's meaning after repeatedly saying it?"

She rolled over on her back and blew the hair off her face. "Some phrases never lose their meaning, Jarvis."

"If you say so, Miss Stark."

She sat up suddenly. "You don't believe me?"

"It's not a matter of whether I believe you."

"Then what _is_ it a matter of?" she didn't know why she was arguing with artificial intelligence. She'd been on the edge ever since Tony and Pepper ran off a week ago. She still didn't know where they were.

"Human thought paths intrigue me."

"That's it?" exasperated, she slid off her bed. The floor felt cold against her bare feet as she padded over to her desk.

He paused, as if he were thinking through his answer. "There's no need to take out your frustration on me. Your parents will eventually return."

She rolled her eyes. "Probably after two months. I can't believe they would leave their own daughter in dark." she slid her hand under the lip of the desk, searching for the button.

"There's no need, Miss Stark. I've already executed your daily search. There's still no sign of them."

She sighed and leaned back, keeping her chair delicately balanced on two legs. "Do _you_ know where they are?" she already knew the answer.

"I haven't a clue. Mr. Stark was careful to tell no one of their destination."

"Great. Did the press find them yet?"

"I've scanned all the local tabloids. The only article that mentions the Stark name is about a press conference that will be taking place this afternoon."

She raised an eyebrow. "About what?"

"I believe your exploits as Miss Morph have caught their attention."

"Why is the 'Stark name' involved?"

"If you recall, a few days ago, you stopped a hacker from accessing the Stark Industries server."

"Yeah...but I didn't even have to dress up for that. I just strengthened the firewall."

"And then the account of three fugitives breaking into Stark Industries at 1:08 a.m. three days later."

"Oh. They think they're related?"

"I believe so."

"Who's going to run the press conference?"

"I believe you are, Miss Stark."

She yelped and the chair tumbled backwards, crashing onto the hard tile.

"Are you all right, Miss Stark?" surprisingly, he sounded worried.

She nodded for no apparent reason. "I'm fine, Jarvis. Just a bruise that'll probably heal in a few minutes." she rolled off the chair and stood. She set the chair on its legs and headed downstairs.

--

Sarah opened the fridge and inspected its contents. "Hmm...do we have anything to eat?" she moved around the boxes of takeout. There was nothing appetizing.

"I think there's enough food for a person of your stature, Miss Stark." Jarvis answered.

She shook her head and closed the fridge. "What time is it?"

"10:54 a.m. Pacific Standard Time." he answered automatically.

"Could you order some pizza?"

"Miss Stark, you've ordered pizza everyday for the past week."

"And?" she leaned against the counter.

"I don't think Mr. Stark will approve of your eating habits."

She rolled her eyes. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Jarvis sighed. "All right, Miss Stark. The usual order?"

She nodded. "Yes."

Jarvis paused as he did his work. "The order has been placed and paid for. The pizza should arrive in approximately thirty minutes."

"You gotta love Dominoes." she went to the main room and sat on the couch. She picked up the remote and turned on the flat screen.

It was already on the entertainment channel. She sighed. "When is this _not_ on?"

"It _does_ occupy an entire channel, Miss Stark." Jarvis answered.

"Jarvis?"

"Yes?"

"Don't answer every comment I make, okay? It gets on my nerves."

"I'll be sure to note that, Miss Stark."

She sighed, knowing that he'd never be able to stop. She left the TV on and melted through the couch to get to the piano. She sat on the bench, her fingers poised over the keys, trying to decide what to play. She'd taken piano lessons while living with several different families.

She sat there for a couple minutes, listening to the drone of the TV.

Finally deciding what to play, she let her fingers dance over to keys. The tones messed together to create a masterpiece. It was calm and relaxing. She'd written it herself.

Suddenly, the volume on the TV went up. She stopped playing and looked around. She was still by herself.

"What are you doing, Jarvis?" she glanced up at the ceiling, as if he would appear there.

"I think you should listen to this, Miss Stark."

She zeroed in on the screen and the volume returned to its normal level. She knew Jarvis would only do this if it was really important.

A reporter was talking about her parents. "...Billionaire Tony Stark and his famous assistant Virginia 'Pepper' Potts still haven't been found. There are unconfirmed rumors that they are currently vacationing in the Bahamas. As far as we know, Tony Stark has only been released from a local hospital just three weeks ago. His alleged daughter, Sarah Stark, had been admitted to the same hospital on September 30th and was released the following day. Supposedly, they were both injured while rock climbing somewhere in Arizona..."

Sarah shook her head. "Rock climbing?"

Jarvis didn't answer her so she continued to listen.

"...The strange appearances of 'Miss Morph', a vigilante similar to 'Iron Man', have come to the attention of the police department. Last week, she stopped a band of criminals from breaking into Stark Industries and, days before, is rumored to have prevented a security breach in the Stark Industries server. Police believe that she is somehow involved in these attacks and had backed out at the last second. She is a supposedly a fugitive but has also stopped several unrelated robberies and muggings in the past weeks.

"As to her special capabilities, there have been reports of wings sprouting from her back, fire igniting on her body, and, the most popular, moving through solid objects. There have also been sightings of an electrical shock pulsing through her fingers and, occasionally, the changing of her appearance.

"Most medical doctors believe that the people who've witnessed these phenomenons were simply delusional but others disagree. Some geneticists believe that her DNA was altered so she could have the ability to perform such tasks. I, personally, don't care whether or not she _can_ execute these actions. All I care about is that she has reduced the crime rate by at least five percent in Malibu, California and that's something we should be grateful for. We shouldn't be questioning 'Miss Morph', we should be helping her. That's all for today's report. Carey..."

Sarah didn't listen to her last name. She didn't really care. She was shocked that people care so much about Miss Morph to say things like that. She was also intrigued by the fact that her parents could be in the Bahamas.

"Jarvis?"

"Yes, Miss Stark?"

"When is the press conference?"

"At 1:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time."

"Good. I have time to figure this out."

There was a knock on the door. She automatically headed for the door, expecting it to be the pizza.

Sarah opened the door. "Rhodey! What are you doing here?"

Rhodey was standing in the door frame, holding four boxes of pizza. He looked uncomfortable. "What do you mean? I'm delivering your pizza. Do you have to order so much?"

She chuckled and took the boxes from him. "This is my..." she pointed to each box in turn. "breakfast, lunch, dinner, and...snack. You can come in...or were you here for Tony?"

He shook his head and straightened his jacket. "No. I came here to talk to you. He's not back yet, is he?"

"No, still missing." she took the boxes to the coffee table. She took the top most box and sat down on the couch. The TV was off. She assumed that Jarvis had turned it off when she'd answered the door. "You want some?"

He shook his head and sat down across from her. "I just came to talk to you about...the press conference."

She opened the box and picked up a slice of pizza. "What about it?"

"You know?"

"Yeah. I know it's about Tony and Pepper and Miss Morph and I'm supposed to run it?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Tony thought you should do it. To get a feel for it."

"Have you talked to him recently?"

"Yeah. He called me this morning. He was using a pay phone so I couldn't call him back and he didn't tell me anything about where they are."

She groaned and leaned back. "Unbelievable. They call you but not their own daughter."

"They haven't called you this past week? Sent a letter, anything?" he seemed just as surprised as she was.

She shook her head. "Nothing. Why?"

"Well I expected them to at least keep in contact with you. It's not like Pepper to do that."

"I know. I just woke up one morning and they were gone. Jarvis told me that they had left and will be back soon. That's all I know."

"That's...weird. He told me he was going to Vegas...but I didn't think-"

"Wait a sec. Vegas?"

"Yeah. That's what he-"

He stopped when a huge smile broke across Sarah's face. "I know what they're up to." She abandoned her pizza and flew up to the ceiling. "I'll be right back." she went through the ceiling and got ready for the press conference.


	21. Chapter 21

_I'm on a roll! I know how to end it now. It's just the question of getting there. I don't own anything._

**Chapter 21**

Rhodey sighed and leaned back. He'd put two and two together. He knew what Sarah was talking about. She probably assumed, just as he did, that they ran off to get married in Vegas then continued to a honeymoon somewhere in the Caribbean.

Sarah came through the ceiling again and landed softly on the couch. Her wings were gone as soon as her feet touched to floor. "What time is it, Jarvis?"

Jarvis sighed. "It is now 11:24 a.m. Pacific Standard Time, Miss Stark. Maybe you should purchase a watch."

She smiled and stood. "Maybe Tony'll get me one as a late birthday present. He still hasn't come through with his promise."

"I'm sure he will, Miss Stark."

She sighed and shook her head. "You're car's outside, right?"

Rhodey, unsure if she was still talking to Jarvis or not, asked. "You're talking to me, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Why would I ask Jarvis that?"

He shook his head. "Just checking. Yeah, why?"

"You're going to drive me to the press conference." she started toward the door.

"Sarah, it's not until one." he protested.

"Hey, I didn't say we were going _strait_ there. Besides, you want me to fly there?" she raised an eyebrow, knowing that he'd agree with that in mind.

He sighed. "I swear it's like I'm talking to Tony sometimes." he stood and opened the door. "The way you negotiate."

She shrugged. "It happens...but mostly I act like myself."

"I wonder what that's like." they headed toward the car.

Sarah shut the door. "You'll find out soon enough." she walked briskly ahead of Rhodey then stopped suddenly. He expected to bump into her but instead she passed right through him. He didn't feel any change, just uncomfortable.

He turned around. "That's kinda weird. It feels...like something's out of place when you do that."

She smiled at him. "Now, you know. Come on, we don't want to be late." she started forward.

"We won't be late when we're hours early. Why can't Hogan drive you?"

"You trying to get rid of me?"

"No. I'm just wondering..."

"It's his day off. Come on!" she pulled him toward his car. She didn't wait for him to let her in. She passed through the door and settled herself in the passenger seat.

Rhodey shook his head and climbed in. He shut the door and started the engine. "You know, it's normal to _open_ the door."

She smiled at him. "For as long as you've known me, when have I been _normal_?"

He pulled out of the drive and headed toward the highway. "Where do you want to go?"

"Nowhere in particular..." She pulled something out of her jacket pocket. It looked like a small ear piece.

"What's that?" he tried to keep his eyes on the road but couldn't help glancing over at Sarah.

"This is sort of a communication device. Jarvis's program is on here so I can talk to him whenever I need to." she looked up and saw him trying to drive. She smiled. "You know, I installed auto drive on your car. If you just tell it the destination, it'll take you there."

"Was this Tony's idea?" he watched her carefully. Sarah was pushing and turning various knobs like there was some secret code.

She shook her head. "I wrote it myself...actually, I think he installed it the last time he was in here..." she opened the glove compartment and pushed a button hidden on the roof of it. "Let me check with Jarvis..." she picked up the ear piece and inserted it in her ear. "Jarvis?"

"Yes, Miss Stark?" she could hear him crystal clear in her ear. Rhodey could only hear her side of the conversation.

"Yeah, could you activate Rhodey's auto drive program?"

"Most certainly, Miss Stark. What's your destination?"

"Just...where ever the conference is held."

"Destination set. Commencing auto drive." his voice came from somewhere inside the car as well as in the ear piece.

"Rhodey, let go of the wheel."

He reluctantly lifted his hands. The wheel kept turning slightly, compensating the car's weight and keeping it on the road. "That's...cool."

Sarah nodded. "You can back away from the pedals. It'll take us there."

Rhodey moved his feet back. "You know, we're going to be impossibly early."

"It's better than being late." she pulled off her jacket and began to unbutton her shirt.

"What are you doing?"

She smiled at him. "Relax. I figured I might catch a few crooks while we have the time." she pulled her shirt of completely. Underneath was her Miss Morph suit.

Rhodey sighed in relief. "Nice work by the way. It's all over the news."

She slipped off her jeans. "Yeah, well, I'm a classic hero. Tony only deals with big things. I on the other hand..." she put her hair up in a ponytail. "deal with robberies and fires but...occasionally..." she let her hands change color, resembling her gloves. "I deal with the big stuff too." the ear piece disappeared. He couldn't tell it was there.

"How are you doing that?"

"Doing what?" she looked over at him. "Oh, the ear piece. Well, since it's _inside_ my ear, it's easier to alter it. Usually, I have to stretch my skin over something to change it."

"That's...a mental image I didn't need." he shook his head.

"I know it sounds disturbing but you can't even tell it's happening. The only way you would know is if I told you." the car automatically exited the highway. "We're getting close. Jarvis, could you slow us down?"

"I can only slow within the preset safety limit, Miss Stark." Jarvis said from some hidden speaker. Rhodey could her him too.

She rolled her eyes. "Did Tony mess with the program?"

"He made a few changes for your safety. Speed limits for fast speeds as well as slow-"

"Jarvis, just slow us down or pull us over in some abandoned alley."

"I don't think an abandoned alley is the safest place-"

She sighed in exasperation. "Set new destination. Stop us at least six blocks away from the conference building."

"Destination set. May I ask what your planning to do, Miss Stark?"

"Just putting some bad guys in the slammer. Thanks, Jarvis." the car pulled over at a buffet.

"You're most certainly welcome, Miss Stark."

She smiled and created a mask on her face. She stood up in her seat, ducking slightly.

"Sarah, where are you going?" Rhodey asked.

"I'm not Sarah, I'm Miss Morph and you know what I'm doing. Don't worry I'll be back in time for the conference. If you're hungry, you can eat here. Otherwise, just wait in the car. If you have any questions, ask Jarvis."

She shot up through the ceiling, spreading her wings. She flew up high, making wide circles. "Jarvis, has there been any criminal activity nearby?"

"I believe there has been several-"

"Never mind, Jarvis. I've just found something." she dove down toward the suspects.

Sarah landed softly and looked around. The alley was dark, despite the afternoon sun. The criminals didn't notice her entrance. She moved stealthily up behind the two fugitives.

The woman that they had trapped was scared out of her mind. Her face was pale and she clutched her handbag like it would somehow save her. She looked around wildly, trying to find something to protect herself with. She hadn't noticed Miss Morph.

Sarah decided that this was her only chance. She stood up straight and spoke with no hint of fear in her voice. "So...boys. What were you planning to do after you've gotten this far, huh?"

The three thugs turned around. "Who are you?" one asked, obviously the leader.

"Let's shed some light on the subject." she let her body produce a bright glow.

The criminals had to cover their eyes. She stepped forward into a patch of sunlight and extinguished the light.

The other pointed a shaky finger in her direction. "M-miss Morph. Do you know what she did to the last group?"

The leader laughed. "That's just rumors. She probably has some high tech device that produces the light."

Miss Morph shook her head and smiled at them. "Explain this." she let her hands be consumed by flames. She jumped up and over them, putting herself in between them and their victim.

"Hey, Marcus," the one that had pointed her out before spoke. "let's get the hell out of here!"

The leader, Marcus, shook his head. "You can go but I don't think she'll hurt us."

Miss Morph shook her head. "You seem confident, _Marcus_." she drew out his name and charged forward. They drew out their guns but she knocked them out of the way before they could use them. She pinned them both against the wall and used a piece of metal to attach them to a dumpster. She stepped back and brushed off her hands. "They usually pick up the garbage in an hour." she turned to the woman. "You okay?"

She nodded, still tense. "T-thank you."

"You're welcome. Spread the word. I'm a good guy." she launched herself up into the sky.

* * *

Rhodey sighed and leaned back. "Jarvis, do you know when she'll be back? She's been gone for almost half an hour."

"Miss Stark will return when she's ready, Colonel Rhodes."

The car shook suddenly and Sarah appeared in the passenger seat. "Jarvis, take us to the conference. We should make it just in time." she began her transformation from Miss Morph to Sarah Stark.

The car pulled out and started toward the road.

"Have fun?" Rhodey asked.

"Maybe. It was too easy." she pulled on her jacket and let her hair down, shaking her fingers through it. She slipped on her tennis shoes and shoved her boots under her seat. "How do I look?"

Rhodey studied her. "Presentable. Can I drive? It's annoying me."

She nodded. "Go ahead. Jarvis, disable auto drive."

"Auto drive disabled." he spoke through the ear piece.

Rhodey looked at Sarah and placed his hands on the wheel. He gently pushed on the gas pedal and drove up to the building.

Sarah pulled out her ear piece and shoved it in her jacket pocket.

He cut off the engine and looked over to Sarah. "You ready?"

She sighed and looked out at the crowd of reporters. "As I'll ever be."


	22. Chapter 22

_Almost over...tear, tear. I don't own anything. This isn't the last chapter, just to let you know. ENJOY!!  
_

**Chapter 22**

As soon as Sarah set foot on the ground, she was swamped. Rhodey handed his keys to the valet and came to her side. He tired to get her through. She stopped him. "I can handle this."

He nodded reluctantly and went inside ahead of her.

Sarah turned to the crowd in front of her. "Shouldn't you be inside? Take all the pictures you want. I'm not answering any questions until I get in there." she moved through the crowd and into the building. Rhodey was standing by the door. "Couldn't trust me?"

"Well, I expected you to pull something..." he confessed.

"You see, I'm not my father."

"Right." he nodded. "Let's go." he led her to the front of the room. "All you have to do is answer the questions. If something's off subject then ignore that question. It's pretty easy."

She nodded. "I've seen it a million times. I can't handle it."

Rhodey went to the podium. The crowd of reporters automatically fell silent. "It's my great pleasure to introduce the newest member of the Stark family, Sarah Stark."

Sarah walked up to the podium, a little nervous. Rhodey patted her on the shoulder as he walked by. She faced the crowd. "This is my first time so you'll have to bear with me." she was answered by a small burst of laughter. "Before I answer any questions, I want to clarify some things. Yes, I am Sarah Stark, Tony Stark's daughter and yes, I will inherit the Stark fortune. I don't know where my father is at the moment. I will answer your questions one at a time."

Hands shot in the air, their voices blended together as each tried to gain her attention.

Sarah pointed to a brunette. "Yes, you in the front row."

The crowd hushed as she asked her question. "Do you think the attacks on Stark Industries are somehow connected?"

"All I know on that point is that we are doing the best we can to stop them." she pointed to another reporter. "Go."

"Is Miss Morph somehow a liability to Stark Industries?"

"We still don't know at this point if she's good or bad but it's safe to say that no. She's not connected to us in any way." she pointed to another person.

"Considering your father's confession several years ago, are _you_ Miss Morph?"

Sarah chuckled. "Does it look like I can do what she does? No, I'm not Miss Morph."

Rhodey let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Sarah smiled to herself. "Yes, you in the back."

"If you're not Miss Morph, how do you explain that you disappear off the globe every time she's in action?"

Sarah knew this reporter. "How did you come to this conclusion? You don't know immediately when she saves the day, am I correct?"

"I have my sources."

"Well, Miss Everhart, I don't need to give a detailed report on my daily life for you to know that she and I are two separate people. Any disappearance on my part is merely coincidence. Next question."

"Is it true that you lived at San Hill Orphanage until month ago?"

"Yes, it is true. I lived there."

"And is it also true that two orphans from that same orphanage stayed with you for a few days?"

"Yes, they stayed at the Stark residence. I cannot say their names but they were good friends of mine. We found a nice home for them and they will live happily during the remainder of their childhood. Next question."

"Why is it that after your so called rock climbing accident, your father had shards of metal removed?"

"When he fell, he landed on a pile of scrap metal and broke his leg in the process."

"Did you suffer from any severe injuries?"

"I had a slight concussion and didn't need to stay as long as my father had to."

Another reporter jumped at the silence. "Who is the teenage boy we often see you with?"

She evaded the question easily. "We are not here to talk about my personal life. If you're writing for a gossip column, I suggest you find another source."

Rhodey chuckled silently. Sarah smirked. "Yes." she motioned to a reporter.

"Since you did live at the orphanage, are you adopted?"

"Yes, you can look at the records yourself. I am adopted." she nodded to another reporter.

"Is Tony Stark your biological father?"

She paused in thought. Should she tell the whole story? "I'll let you decide, sir. I'm still not sure myself."

There was a burst of laughter. Sarah pointed to another reporter. "Yes."

"If Tony Stark is your father, who is your mother? He hasn't been in a serious relationship with anyone in seven or eight years."

"You can tell by just looking at me that I'm not eight years old. If you want to find out who my mother is, you're going to have to look farther back." she nodded to another reporter. "Yes, you."

"Just out of curiosity, how old are you?"

"I'm fifteen as of three weeks ago."

"Where you born on Halloween?"

"Yes."

"Are you some kind of brilliant mind like Tony Stark?"

"I don't see how this question is relevant but I suppose you could call me that."

"Will you be presenting any great inventions in the future?"

"Well, I'm not a psychic but I can see that happening." she nodded to a reporter near the front. "Yes."

"Why haven't you attended school since your accident?"

She smiled. No one knew about her educational plans except her parents. "I'm planning on attending MIT next semester."

Rhodey looked at her in surprise. She shrugged and nodded to another reporter. "What will you be majoring in?"

"Computer programming and robotics."

"Do you intend to graduate in the next year?"

"I will stay as long as it takes to get my degree whether it takes a few months or a few years."

Rhodey tapped her on the shoulder. "You can answer one more question." he whispered in her ear.

She nodded and turned back to the crowd. "I have time for one more question. Yes." she pointed to a reporter toward the back.

"Would you be willing to let your father speak?"

She couldn't see his face. "Who are you and what paper are you from?"

The man came up to the front dragging someone behind him. There were a few gasps as he came into the view of the reporters. "I'm Tony Stark and I don't belong to a paper."

Sarah smiled. "Sure. I would _love_ to let my father speak." she stepped away from the podium toward Rhodey.

Tony stepped up on the stage, Pepper following closely behind. He looked at home behind the podium. "I will not be taking any questions." he waited for the crowd to settle. "I have a few announcements to make. First, I'm looking for a new assistant so send your resumes to Stark Industries. Second, my former assistant, Pepper, and I were relaxing in an undisclosed location in the Bahamas. Third, Sarah is my biological daughter. And last, but most certainly not least, let me introduce you to Sarah's mother and my wife, Mrs. Pepper Stark." he wrapped an arm around her. "That's all I have to say."

All the reporters stood up shouting questions and demanding answers.

He walked coolly off the stage, Pepper on his arm. Sarah followed them with Rhodey. Pepper kept glancing back at the crowd of hungry reporters.

"Relax, honey." Tony reassured her. "They'll give up eventually."

She took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm sorry. I'm not used to being chased by reporters."

Sarah came up next to her father. "When did you get here?"

He smiled at his daughter. "Just a few minutes ago. We went straight from the airport to here. We watched the whole thing."

She raised an eyebrow. "The _whole thing_?"

He nodded. "Uh huh. I love the way you avoided..." he trailed off, trying to remember her name.

"Christine Everhart?"

He nodded. "Yeah. She looked so defeated after you answered her question."

"That's great. Did I do okay?" they entered the parking lot.

"You did great, Sarah." Pepper walked around Tony so she could be next to her daughter. "Better than I expected." she took her hand and squeezed it lovingly.

"Hey, at least she didn't say that she was Miss Morph." Rhodey said.

Tony stopped walking and turned to his friend. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

He raised his hands in defeat. "I'm just saying she's so like you sometimes..."

Tony smiled and hugged his friend. "It's good to see you."

"Good to see you too."

"Oh, Tony, why did you tamper with _my_ program?" Sarah asked, as they caught up with her and Pepper.

"I just wanted to make it safer. I didn't completely destroy it." he said.

"But...it's _my_-" she stopped when she saw the car they were heading to. "Did you get this in Cuba?" she teased.

It was pretty nice. Sleek, stylish, sports car. Its sliver paint glinted in the sunlight.

Tony shook his head. "Had it for a while. Never got the chance to fix it up until after we got out of the hospital."

She ran a hand over it. "So...what? Wedding getaway car?"

"No. Actually..."

Rhodey had known Tony for a long time. He knew exactly what he was going to say. "You didn't."

Tony turned toward him. "Didn't what?" he smiled.

He shook his head. "I'm getting out of here before she explodes." he climbed in his car, started the engine, and drove off.

"What is he talking about?" Sarah asked.

"Well...you know how I promised you a really good birthday present?"

Sarah was frozen in shock. "It's _mine_?"

He nodded. "Yeah but you can't drive it until you get your license."

She smiled. "But...I can still...use it, right?"

"As long as you keep it on auto drive...well, that's not a problem. I've already installed your program and only I'm authorized to take it off. Just until you get your license."

She ran forward and hugged him tightly. "You're the greatest dad ever!" she headed for the car and opened the door. "You guys coming?"

Pepper smiled at Tony. "As long as we get the backseat."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just get in!" she practically threw herself into the car in her excitement. Tony and Pepper climbed in the back.

"Jarvis? You there?" Sarah asked. She was practically bouncing in her seat.

"For you, Miss Stark? Always." Jarvis answered.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't falter me. Take us home."

"Destination has been set."

The car pulled out and headed for the Stark mansion.


	23. Chapter 23

_Hey, last chapter. sniffle. But I am writing a sequel though! It'll probably be called Discovered Future. Still deciding. I'll put it up as soon as I finish my KH story. Sorry for the shortness but the last two chapters were kinda long so...it evens out. Anyway, I own nothing._

**Chapter 23**

The car pulled up to the house. Sarah climbed out. Tony and Pepper followed shortly after her. Sarah didn't bother to open the door. She just went straight through.

Pepper shook her head. "She's gotta stop doing that."

Tony shrugged. "We don't have any neighbors. She'll be fine."

"I'm not worried about that, Tony. I'm just worried that she won't be able to break that habit when she goes to MIT."

He opened the door. "She handles herself pretty well in public. She'll be okay."

She sighed. "I hope."

They stepped inside and shut the door. Sarah was sitting on the couch, the remote in her hand, flipping through the channels.

"Give it a break, Sarah." Pepper said. "Just chill."

Sarah looked back at her parents. "Just want to see what everyone else thinks." she turned back and continued.

Pepper was about to say more but Tony stopped her. "It's no use. She's as stubborn as I am."

"Oh. Really..." she leaned against him.

He smiled and leaned in to kiss her.

Sarah sighed. "Why don't you get a room?"

Tony pulled away. "Anything good?"

She shrugged. "Everyone's surprised I'm majoring in computer programming. And...a lot of women are sad that you're finally taken." she chuckled. "Yeah. Like one night is good enough for them."

Tony smiled and turned back to Pepper. "I love you." he whispered.

She smiled. "I love you too."

They continued kissing.

Sarah spoke again. "You know that sketch in the hospital? I can do plenty more right now." she turned off the TV and sat on her knees, facing them. She rested her hands on the back of the couch.

"I don't really care." Tony muttered.

Sarah smiled and crossed over to the piano. "Maybe you need some inspiration." she started to play another of her pieces. This one was more like something that would play at a party.

Pepper broke away. "That doesn't really fit the mood, Sarah." she looked over her shoulder.

She smirked. "That's the point." she transitioned fluidly to something like a war march.

Tony sighed. "You win this one. Come on, Pep." he led her up the stairs.

Sarah watched them leave. When she was sure they were out of hearing range, she spoke. "The honeymoon's over, you know."

Jarvis spoke a few minutes later. "Mr. Stark wanted me to relay a message, Miss Stark."

Sarah smiled. "Go ahead, Jarvis."

"He told me that 'the honeymoon's never over.'"

"He heard that?"

"I believe so."

She rolled her eyes. "Tell him that I'm leaving soon and he better spend some time with me tomorrow."

"Will do, Miss Stark." there was a pause as he relayed the message. "He says, 'I'll try.'"

Sarah shook her head and continued playing. She started with her own pieces but they finished quickly. She moved on and began composing out of nowhere. She was just creating melodies and harmonies without really thinking about it. She just pressed random keys and somehow they created beautiful tunes.

As she did this she couldn't help but wonder what MIT was going to be like and how her parents would handle it. She kept wondering if any new villains would present themselves or if they were safe for a couple of years.

Either way, it was time to move on from the past and into the future.


End file.
